Lean hog futures declined across the board Friday, with October contracts shedding $3.42 for the week. The USDA national base hog price settled at $81.76 in the afternoon report, while the CME Lean Hog Index fell another 79 cents on September 14 to $85.02.
Speculative traders increased their bearish exposure, adding 7,845 contracts to push the managed money net short position to a fresh record of 31,401 contracts during the week ended September 15.
The USDA pork carcass cutout value retreated 56 cents to $86.98, with only the rib and belly primals posting gains. Federally inspected hog slaughter for the week was estimated at 2.49 million head, including Saturday kill, down 102,381 head from the comparable week last year.
Oct 26 Hogs closed at $78.100, down $0.800
Dec 26 Hogs closed at $68.550, down $1.050
Feb 27 Hogs closed at $70.150, down $0.975
