Lean hog futures were 20 to 77 cents higher on Thursday, as April slipped 42 cents last week. Open interest was down 1,597 contracts on Thursday. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $90.35 on Friday afternoon, down 96 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was down another 24 cents on April 1 at $90.17. Monthly trade data from Census converted to a carcass basis showed pork exports at 574.24 million lbs. That was the 4th largest on record for February and down 2.7% from January. Mor ...