Lean hog futures closed Thursday’s session with nearby contracts up 30 to 67 cents, while back months gained between 10 and 67 cents. USDA’s national base hog price from the Thursday PM report was down 17 cents from the day prior, settling at $104.50. The CME Lean Hog Index was up 10 cents on September 23, closing at $105.00.
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released their quarterly Hogs & Pigs report this afternoon. The September 1 inventory was reported at 74.472 million head, down 1.35% from last year and well below estimates that had predicted a slight increase. Hogs kept for breeding saw a decrease of 1.82%, totaling 5.934 million head—also below estimates. Market hog inventory declined by 1.31% compared to last year, falling to 68.538 million head.
In export news, USDA reported pork sales totaling 29,402 metric tons (MT) for the week ending September 18, marking a four-week high. The largest buyer was Mexico, purchasing 10,000 MT, followed by South Korea at 4,900 MT and Japan at 3,800 MT. Pork shipments for the week were recorded at 29,297 MT, down from the previous week. Mexico remained the top destination with 13,100 MT shipped, while Japan and China received 3,600 MT and 2,800 MT respectively.
USDA’s FOB plant pork cutout report from Thursday afternoon showed a decline of 64 cents, closing at $110.99 per hundredweight (cwt). However, ham and belly primals were the only cuts reported higher.
Federal hog slaughter for Thursday was estimated at 490,000 head, bringing the weekly total to 1.939 million head. This total is down 1,000 head from the previous week but 3,906 head above the same week last year.
October 2025 lean hog futures closed at $100.10, up 67.5 cents. December 2025 closed at $88.63, up 50 cents, while February 2026 closed at $89.93, up 30 cents.
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**Disclosure:** On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data are for informational purposes only. For more details, please view the [Barchart Disclosure Policy](#). The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/hogs-close-mixed-trade-ahead-bullish-hogs-pigs-report