Lean hog futures were $1 to $1.37 higher on Friday, with front months down 2 to up 22 cents. July was $2.10 lower last week. Open interest was up 1,905 contracts on Friday. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $93.44 on Friday afternoon, down $1.85 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was back down 7 cents on June 24 at $91.78
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.
