Pork bellies ended sharply lower, live cattle closed mixed and feeder cattle finished moderately higher.

Lean hogs began the day in two-tiered fashion. Spot-April and June gained on spillover buying while back months lagged due to electronic-Chicago Board of Trade corn's overnight retreat.

But spot-April hogs at times succumbed to eroding live hog prices that knocked the spot month to a fresh 60.25-cent contract low. And June at times suffered amid spreaders who sold the nearby contract and bought April.

April/June hog forward spreads, and April's contract low that attracted bargain hunters, kept the spot month from totally unraveling. By the same token April at times pulled back after it was unable to move beyond Tuesday's 61.30-cent high and because of pre-Goldman roll business.

The roll consists of funds moving some of their spot-April long positions into nearby June in preparation for the first of five days of the Goldman roll on March 7. The process is tied to the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index.