Pork futures churned throughout the session, stirred by shorts sliding money off the table after a profitable month. Meanwhile, bullish traders cautiously waded into the market because of December and February's lofty premiums to the exchange's hog barometer.

Talk of a winter storm bearing down on sections of the Midwest, and early steady cash hog prices, also prompted buying on breaks. Upward momentum sometimes lifted the December contract into positive trading territory where it encountered key 40-day moving average resistance.

Several front-month traders followed an agricultural research firm's Dec. 1 December and February sell recommendation. And December at one point responded in kind to lower-than-anticipated midday direct cash hog returns.

Monday's cash direction may depend on the weekend's storm's impact on transportation of live supplies and employees to processing facilities.

While bullish traders believe the storm could slow the movement of animals to packing plants and underpin cash prices, bears argue that animals could back up on farms and later pressure cash bids after roads are cleared.