Lean hog futures closed Monday trade with contracts 55 to 70 cents higher, as February was down a nickel. Open interest was down 1,590 contracts in the February contract, with others showing new buying interest, up a combined 6,278. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $83.25 on Monday afternoon, down 31 cents. The CME Lean Hog Index was up another 55 cents on Jan 22 at $83.62.
USDA’s pork carcass cutout value from the Monday PM report was $1.51 higher at $97.26 per cwt. The butt and ham primals were reported lower, with the rib up $5.97. USDA estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for Monday at 426,000 head. That is 5,000 head above last week but 5,345 head below the same week last year.
