Lean hog futures were weaker on Friday as contracts were down 20 to 77 cents at the close, with April down $2.175 this week. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $90.38 on Friday afternoon, down $2.42 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was another 11 cents higher on March 18 at $92.04.
Friday’s CFTC Commitment of Traders report indicated a total of 11,151 contracts cut from the spec fund net long position in lean hog futures and options as of March 17. That took the net long to 116,553 contracts.
