A premium to current cash prices, technical resistance near the 40-day moving average and one-month high hit Wednesday, along with local selling weighed on December in the lightly traded session.

Fund buying helped push most-active February hogs up to a fresh one-month high early in the session before profit taking pulled prices off its top. After trading outside of Wednesday's range in both directions, a late rebound left February up 7 points at 62.82 cents on the close.

Locals were early sellers in December hogs, while Man Financial was a buyer in February hogs.

Pork belly futures ended higher, but February was the only contract traded in the short session. February gapped higher on the open on follow-through buying interest, along with support from the monthly cold storage report released Wednesday afternoon. However, after hitting nearly a three-month high at 94.50 cents on the initial bell, profit-taking amid overbought indicators pulled the market off its high and filled the short-lived gap. Support was found near the middle of Wednesday's range, and late buying lifted February bellies to a 45-point gain on the day. It closed at 93.50 cents, its highest since Aug. 23.