Lean hog futures are trading with $1.20 to $1.65 nearby gains so far on Friday.  The national average base hog negotiated price was not reported on Friday morning due to light volume, with the 5-day rolling average at $79.61.  The CME Lean Hog Index was reported at $84.21 on December 18, up a nickel from the previous day.

The quarterly Hogs & Pigs report will be released on Monday, assuming there’s no government shutdown, with a Reuters survey of traders calling for all hogs inventory as of December 1 up 0.1% from last year. The number of market hogs is seen up 0.1% from last year with breeding inventory steady. 

USDA’s FOB plant pork cutout value reported back higher on Friday PM, dup $2.15 at $98.30 per cwt. The loin and ham primals were the only reported lower, with the belly leading the charge to the upside, $13.51 higher. USDA estimated the Thursday FI hog slaughter at 487,000 head, taking the weekly total to 1.950 million head. That is 14,000 head above last week and up 18,832 head from the same week last year. 

Feb 25 Hogs  are at $85.275, up $1.650,

Apr 25 Hogs  are at $89.925, up $1.300

May 25 Hogs  is at $93.925, up $1.200,