Lean hog futures closed higher on Friday across multiple contract months. August futures settled $1.20 higher for the week, while open interest increased by 442 contracts during the session. The CME Lean Hog Index rose 40 cents on July 22 to $97.48. USDA’s national base hog price declined $2.77 in the Friday afternoon report, settling at $99.37.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data from the weekly Commitment of Traders report showed managed money reducing their net short position by 12,281 contracts during the week of July 21. This adjustment brought the managed money net short position to 18,157 contracts, down from a near-record level in the previous week.
Cold storage inventory data released Friday indicated pork stocks of 458.22 million pounds as of June 30. This represented a 9.44% increase from the same period in the prior year and a 0.7% rise compared to the end of May. USDA’s pork carcass cutout value gained 15 cents in the Friday afternoon session, reaching $104.63. The butt and belly primals were the only reported categories showing price gains.
Federally inspected hog slaughter for the previous week totaled 2.268 million head, according to USDA estimates. This figure was 28,000 head below the prior week and 55,397 head lower than the corresponding week in the previous year. Contract settlements reflected the broader positive sentiment, with August 26 hogs closing at $102.850 (up $0.700), October 26 at $89.025 (up $0.125), and December 26 at $80.325 (up $0.200).
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