Lean hog futures were weaker in the afternoon, and closed near the lows on the day. The triple digit losses for April through June limited the front months’ weekly gain to 2.3%. April hogs closed at $87.15 after beginning the month at $76.90. The CME Lean Hog Index was $79.95 on the 24th up from $79.12. USDA’s National Average Afternoon Base Hog price was $0.58 higher to $78.52. CFTC’s weekly data release showed lean hog spec traders were 72,780 contracts net long as of 2/23. That was up 5,593 contracts on the week via new buying and short covering.

Pork cutout futures also fell back triple digits on the day, with April down $1.92 to $93.17. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout Value was $1.29 weaker in the PM report to $93.84 cwt. Picnic cuts were $5.92 lower and bellies were down $5. USDA’s estimate for the week’s FI hog slaughter through Saturday is 2.642 million head. That is up from 2.561m head LY, but YTD slaughter still trails last year’s pace by 3.8%.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management

Lean Hog Prices by Barchart

Pork Cutout Prices by Barchart