Hogs Rallying to Close Out August

Lean hog futures are rebounding to close out August, with midday gains ranging from $1.45 to $1.85. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $88.65 on Monday morning, down $1 from the previous day. The CME Lean Hog Index fell another 62 cents on August 27 to $91.52. Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed managed money adding 7,649 contracts to its record net short position during the week of August 25, leaving it short 31,135 contracts. USDA’s pork carcass cutout value rose $2.26 to $99.55. Ham was the only primal lower; belly was up $12.08. Federally inspected hog slaughter totaled 2.377 million head last week, up 11,000 vs. the prior week but down 9,985 year over year. Oct 26, Dec 26, and Feb 27 hogs were higher, at $83.350, $74.125, and $76.575 respectively.