Lean hog futures closed down 80 cents at $2.62, while June delivered a modest uptick of 10 cents over the week. The USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $93.23 on Friday afternoon, down 41 cents from the previous day. The CME Lean Hog Index rose 34 cents to $90.92 on May 27.
Managed money continues to unwind its sizable net long position in lean hog futures and options, eliminating another 20,728 contracts and leaving a net long of only 12,985 contracts — the smallest net long since August 2024.
USDA export sales data show pork shipments for 2026 at 32,874 metric tons for the week ending May 21, down from the prior week. Mexico received 19,500 metric tons, with 3,500 metric tons shipped to Japan. Total shipments for the week totaled 33,491 metric tons, a calendar-year low. Mexico accounted for 14,700 metric tons, and Japan received 5,300 metric tons.
The USDA’s pork carcass cutout value for the Friday PM report rose by 34 cents to $99.45 per hundredweight. Butt, ham, and belly primals were reported lower. The USDA estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for the week at 2.143 million head, down 7,313 head from the same holiday week last year.
