Hogs Look to New Week as Pork Stocks Remain Tight

Market Overview - Lean hog futures closed lower on Friday, with nearby contracts down by 10 to 25 cents, while February futures increased by 7 cents and April futures rose by 97 cents [1] - Preliminary open interest increased by 4,079 contracts on Friday [1] Pricing and Sales Data - USDA's national base hog price was reported at $83.56, up 47 cents from the previous day [1] - The CME Lean Hog Index rose by 67 cents to $83.07 on January 21 [1] - Export Sales data indicated 33,249 MT of pork sold for the week ending January 15, with shipments at 39,223 MT [2] Inventory and Slaughter Statistics - Monthly Cold Storage data showed pork stocks at 390.55 million lbs as of December 31, a decrease of 1.5% from the previous year, marking the lowest December level since 1997 [3] - USDA estimated federally inspected hog slaughter for the previous week at 2.484 million head, which is 139,000 head lower than the previous week but 10,192 head higher than the same week last year [4] Futures Market Activity - Commitment of Traders data revealed that managed money increased their net long position in lean hog futures and options by 14,794 contracts as of January 20, reaching a total net long of 97,418 contracts, the largest since October [3]