Lean hog futures posted Thursday losses of a dime to $1.15 in the front months, with other contracts steady to 37 cents higher. Open interest was up 2,921 contracts, mainly in October and beyond. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $95.29 by USDA on Thursday afternoon, down 27 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was back up 38 cents on June 23 at $91.85
USDA’s Hogs and Pigs showed June 1 hog inventory down 0.04% from last year at 73.664 million head. Hogs kept for breeding were down 1.16% at 5.88 million head, with market hog inventory up just 0.05% to 67.784 million head, vs. trade estimates of 1.1%. The March-May pig crop was up 0.2% to 33.521 million head. Farrowings in that period were down 1.02%. Farrowing intentions for the June-August period are seen at 2.9 million head, down 2.19% from last year.
