Meanwhile, live cattle contracts ended lower while feeders closed mostly weak.

Lean hogs moved in directionless fashion throughout the morning. Bullish traders asserted that light-weight hogs would bring packers to the table before week's end.

However, bearish traders argued that processing disruptions on Wednesday at a Missouri hog packing plant would keep a lid on near-term cash prices. What's more, bears saw Wednesday's pork cutout setback as a precursor to sluggish product demand heading into the Memorial Day holiday.

The stalemate was broken after cash prices at the Iowa/Southern Minnesota hog outlet on Thursday jumped more than $2.50 per hundredweight. Country hog buyers foresee steady to higher cash values on Friday as packers book hogs for next week's slaughter.

Source: FXSTREET.com