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On Friday, Lean hog futures declined, with contracts falling between $1.67 to $2.42. December contracts ended the week down 70 cents, as USDA reported a national base hog price at $70.64, a decrease of $1.23 from the previous day. The CME Lean Hog Index also showed a drop of 56 cents, closing at $85.71 on November 19.
As of October 7, managed money reduced their net long position by 5,048 contracts, totaling 141,240. The USDA reported a pork carcass cutout value increase of $3.22 to $93.43 per cwt. Estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for the week was 2.603 million head, which is 102,000 below last week but up 22,625 from the same week last year.
Closing prices for hog futures on December 25 were $77.800 (down $1.675), February 26 at $77.700 (down $1.950), and April 26 at $81.300 (down $2.425).
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