Lean hog futures saw Friday strength, with contracts up $1.22 to $2.12 in most front months, as April was down a nickel. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $90.52 on Friday afternoon, down 37 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was down another 19 cents on March 25 at $91.46.
Hogs and Pigs data from Thursday afternoon, showed all hog inventory up 0.44% from a year ago at 74.321 million head. Market hogs were up 0.61% at 68.429 million head, with and hogs kept for breeding down 1.47% to 5.892 million head. Sows farrowing in Dec-Feb were down 1.48% compared to intentions of 1.91% last quarter. The Dec-Feb pig crop was up 0.57% to 33.177 million head.
