Lean hog futures were down $1.10 to $2.60 in the front months on the Wednesday close, with back months 7 to 92 cents lower. Long liquidation may have been to blame ahead of the quarterly USDA report on Thursday, as Wednesday’s preliminary open interest was down 6,794 contracts. USDA’s national base hog prices from the Wednesday PM report was at $104.67, down $2.32 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was down another 8 cents on September 22 at $104.90.
NASS will release their quarterly Hogs & Pigs report this afternoon, with September 1 inventory seen up 0.3% from last year. Hogs kept for breeding are expected to be down 0.5%, with market hog inventory seen up 0.3%.
