Going into the weekend, lean hog futures were $0.25 to $0.90 higher. February hogs rallied $1.72 through the week and got to within $3.05 of their prior contract high. USDA’s National Average Base hog price for Friday afternoon was $1.29 firmer to $75.11. The CME Lean Hog Index from 1/25 was another 75 cents higher to $79.20.
Through the week that ended 1/25, managed money firms were buying lean hog futures. The 16,664 new spec trader buyers, and 1.4k fewer shorts, extended the reporting group’s net long position to a 15-week strong 66,907 contract net long.
Pork cutout futures ended the session with a 12 cent dip in April but gains in the other front months. Feb’s cutout was $1.37 higher at the close. USDA’s National Afternoon Pork Carcass Cutout Value was $96.39, down by $1.80 for Friday. USDA’s estimate for the week’s FI hog slaughter was 2.546m head through Saturday. That is down 114k head from the same week last year, as YTD slaughter is now 11.4% behind 2021’s pace.
Feb 22 Hogs closed at $87.925, up $0.900,
Apr 22 Hogs closed at $94.925, up $0.250
Feb 22 Pork Cutout closed at $98.200, up $1.375,
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