"I thought we were in holiday mode and that's not expected for another week. The October contract is so far away from what's happening fundamentally that people don't know what to do with it," said a broker.

Pork futures bounced around throughout the session. Break buying was tied to traders looking for market lows while some sold into up ticks as front months approached key chart thresholds.

Meanwhile, CBOT corn's moderate weakness throughout most of the morning kept far-month hog buyers at bay.

Cash hog prices came in generally lower on Monday, and further weakness is seen for Tuesday because of ample supplies. Some producers may be trucking hogs to market early to avoid lower cash hog bids that typically occur a few days before the holiday.

Without fundamental or technical guidance, some hog brokers suspect another sideways futures trade Tuesday. And, hog contracts may become trapped within a narrow trading range as the three-day Labor Day holiday weekend approaches.

Locals bought October. Fimat sold October and bought December outright. Rosenthal was among December buyers.