Hog slaughter finished last week at an estimated 2.78 million head, down 1 percent from a year ago levels. Slaughter is forecast to peak this week, before trending lower into the holiday weeks. Slaughter is forecast at 2.75 million head this week and up to 2.8 million next, before falling to 1.9 million head for the week ending 12/26. Over the next six weeks, slaughter is forecast at an average of 2.46 million head, down 7.4 percent from the prior six week average. The slower…