Meanwhile, October-December live cattle ended weak but other contracts settled flat to firm. Feeder cattle closed lower during the session.

Follow-through sales and buyer caution undercut hog futures from the outset.Early liquidation sank October to an eight-month bottom, and December fell to its lowest level in 2 1/2 months.

However, futures mustered upward momentum as shorts claimed profits. Also,steady terminal hog market prices encouraged October/December forwards preaders. And, speculative buyers were enamored with front-months' oversold chart conditions.

Nonetheless, October/December buying abated after lower-than-anticipated cash returns at major direct hog markets touched off commercial selling.

Floor traders anticipate steady-to-weak packer bids for hog supplies for Friday. While some processors have supplies booked into early next week, others are struggling to fill Saturday's estimated 160,000-head kill schedule.

Wholesale fresh pork demand at current prices sputtered, which could prompt processors to further discount pork products to stimulate buying interest.

Meanwhile, bearish traders may again attempt to slide money off the table on Friday. And, hog and belly players await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly cold storage report that will be released on Friday at 3 pm EDT (1900GMT).