And, some far hog months drew strength from CBOT corn's rally.

Pork futures spiked on the open fueled by short covering, December and February's oversold chart reputations and pork cutout's hike on Wednesday.

Market participants wondered aloud if Thursday's rally would stick after four straight sessions in which opening gains were replaced by subsequent losses.

That trend was tested after an unexpected rash of selling erupted that yanked December and February from morning tops. Some associated the misstep with mostly lower midday cash hog prices.

However, others blamed the setback on news that Russian banned pork and poultry imports from several U.S. suppliers, which was actually reported several hours before the hog market opened.

"I guess it took a while for it to sink in," a trader said. "When you bring up the word 'Russia', people remember when they banned poultry a few years ago that resulted in cheap chicken that competed with pork and beef."

Nevertheless, December and February soon recovered during another round of short covering, although February later succumbed to last-minute December/February bull spreads.

Country hog buyers anticipate a mixed cash hog trade on Friday.