Lean hog futures posted gains of 50 cents to $1.30 on Wednesday and are trading another $0.77 to $1.30/cwt higher at midday on Thursday. Preliminary open interest was down 4,490 contracts on Wednesday, suggesting the buying was mostly short covering. USDA’s national base hog price had a weighted average (HG202) of $109.60 this morning, down $2.21 from Wednesday. The WCB negotiated average was $109.59, with the IA/MN at $108.58. The CME Lean Hog Index was up a penny at $107.20 on July 15.
USDA’s FOB plant pork cutout value for Thursday morning was $1.32 higher at $114.82 per cwt. Pork belly (raw bacon) quotes were another $3.01 per cwt higher, with all primals excluding the ribs quoted higher for the day. Wednesday’s USDA estimated hog slaughter was 477,000 head, taking the weekly total to 1.408 million head. That was 10,000 head below last week and 26,663 head lower than the same week last year.
