Pork bellies closed sharply higher with May and July limit up. Live and feeder cattle finished higher.

Lean hogs jumped at the start, ignited by Wednesday's considerable pork cutout upturn and covering by nervous shorts that sparked panic buying. Spot April and nearby June's oversold Relative Strength Index conditions inspired speculative buyers.

And, some prospective bulls were enamored with May through August new contract lows on Wednesday. Also, electronic Chicago Board of Trade corn's flat-to-firm trade laid a foundation beneath deferred hog contracts.

Front swine month options' advances accelerated with the inclusion of fund longs and later commercial buying interest, especially in the nearby June contract. April made further headway, and rolled through technical resistance barriers despite generally lower live hog returns.