Lean Hogs Closed Weaker on Friday

At the closing bell for Friday, front month lean hog futures were $0.62 to $1.30 lower. The Feb contract was the outlier with a 32 cent gain. USDA’s National Average Base hog price for Friday was $82.36, after a 28 cent dip. The CME Lean Hog Index from 2/9 was $87.74 after a 52 cent boost.     

CFTC reported lean hog spec traders as 8,704 contracts more net long to 78,672 contracts. That was a 22 week strong net position after a week of net new spec buying. 

Chinese Ag Ministry data reported their domestic herd at 449.22m head, or 10% higher yr/yr as of Q4. The sow herd dropped off by 2.9% through the 4th quarter but was still up 4% yr/yr at 43.29m head. 

Pork cutout futures were $0.62 to $1.30 weaker on Friday, save for a $1.20 gain in the Feb contract. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value for Friday was $8.48 higher to $109.96. Hams were up by $22.37. USDA the week’s FI hog slaughter 2.516m head. That was 71k head above last week, but 127k head below the same week last year. YTD hog slaughter was estimated at 14.846m head, which is 10% behind last year’s pace. 

Feb 22 Hogs  closed at $90.500, up $0.325,

Apr 22 Hogs  closed at $102.225, down $1.200

Feb 22 Pork Cutout  closed at $101.150, up $1.325,