Lean hog futures concluded the Wednesday session mixed, but midday on Friday showed gains of 20 to 80 cents, with July contracts reaching a life-of-contract high at $112.92. The USDA reported a negotiated hog price of $113.12 on Thursday, a decrease of $0.95. Additionally, the CME Lean Hog Index rose by $2.64, settling at $107.59.
For the week of June 12, weekly export sales bounced back to 28,196 MT, an increase of 31.5% compared to the same week last year. However, shipments for that week totaled 30,248 MT, marking a decline of 10.4% from the previous week. The USDA’s FOB plant pork cutout value was reported at $121.448, an increase of $2.46, with significant gains in rib and ham prices. Federally inspected hog slaughter for Thursday was estimated at 471,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 1.889 million, a drop of 31,000 from the previous week and 8,723 below the same week last year.
