Friday lean hog trading left futures on both sides of UNCH. Feb, April, and June contracts gained 32 to 35 cents; while Oct, Dec, and May ’21 were down 2 to 10. October futures ended the week 7 cents lower. The Lean Hog Index from CME was up another $1.42 to $67.84 on September 16. USDA’s National Average Base Hog price Friday fell back $2.35 to $60.26. USDA’s National Pork Carcass Cutout value was $87.53 in the afternoon report, 50 cents higher on mixed primals. CFTC data showed managed money was 42,472 contracts net long on Tuesday the 15th. That was up 8,856 contracts from the week earlier on short covering. USDA estimates the week’s hog slaughter at 2.587 million head. That is down 14,000 from the same week last year, but YTD slaughter is up 1.096 million head yr/yr. Carcass weights are coming in line with year ago.

--- provided by Brugler Marketing & Management