Lean hog futures fell between 30 cents and $1.17 across most contracts on Thursday, following a USDA report that showed the national base hog price at $78.95, down 70 cents from the prior day. The CME Lean Hog Index also declined, dropping 45 cents to $82.47 on September 22.
Export sales data for the week ending September 17 revealed pork sales of 35,323 metric tons scheduled for 2026 delivery, while actual shipments reached 32,092 MT, marking an eight‑week high.
The USDA’s latest Hogs & Pigs report indicated that the September 1 inventory of all hogs was 1.51% lower than a year ago, totaling 74.302 million head. Market hogs fell 1.55% to 68.427 million head, and breeding inventories slipped 1.03%. The June‑August pig crop declined 1.53% to 34.5 million head, and farrowings during that period dropped 2.66%; intentions for farrowing from September through November were down 1.79%.
USDA’s pork carcass cutout value fell 72 cents in Thursday’s afternoon report, settling at $86.10. Belly, ham, and rib primals all posted lower values. Federally inspected hog slaughter for Thursday was estimated at 489,000 head, with the weekly total at 1.922 million head—5,000 below last week’s figure and 11,867 under the comparable week in 2023.
Oct 26 Hogs closed at $79.200, down $0.675.
Dec 26 Hogs closed at $69.475, down $0.850.
Feb 27 Hogs closed at $70.850, down $1.175.