Lean hog futures experienced gains ranging from 97 cents to $1.50 on Friday, closing out the week despite October’s decline of 57 cents since the previous Friday. The USDA reported a national base hog price decrease of $2.49 to $107.88, while the CME Lean Hog Index rose by $0.05 to $109.83 as of August 13.
As of August 12, large managed money speculators increased their net long position in lean hog futures and options by 1,446 contracts, bringing the total to 110,732 contracts. USDA’s Friday afternoon FOB plant pork cutout report showed an increase of $1.22 to $116.40 per cwt. The week’s estimated hog slaughter reached 2.417 million head, 67,000 above last week but down 98,545 from the same week last year.
October 25 Hogs closed at $90.10, up $0.975; December 25 Hogs closed at $83.025, up $1.400; and February 26 Hogs closed at $85.625, also up $1.400.
