July/August bear and bull-spreading into August out of far-months, due inpart to CBOT corn's sharp pullback, weighed heaviest on spot-July and deferredcontracts but landed August in the green. As was case with live cattle,August/October hog bull positioning out-muscled August longs rolling intoOctober.

Pork cutouts, which were down $0.37 late Tuesday, and Wednesday's cash hogprices that fell nearly $3 per hundredweight in some parts of the countryknocked front-month hogs to 5 1/2-month lows for a second straight session.Spotty August fund selling exerted additional August pressure.

Nevertheless, speculative bulls bought breaks motivated by recent boardsetbacks, July and August's oversold Relative Strength Index conditions andboth contracts' discounts to CME's two-day hog barometer.

Country hog buyers anticipate further cash weakness into the weekend aspackers struggle to get a grip on slippery margins.

Hog kills so far this week are below last week's level, which could reducethe amount of fresh product destined for wholesalers. By the some token, grocermeat buyers are purchasing pork hand-to-mouth after stocking meat cases forupcoming Independence Day cookouts.