Steady to higher cash expectations, further strength in wholesale pork prices and a rebound in futures from the session's lows Thursday are considered support for board prices Friday.

Premiums already built into the market are seen by some analysts as a limiting factor for advances. Trading in April lean hogs will expire Monday.

Friday marks the official end of the Goldman roll, or rolling of long-only positions by the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index out of the spot month and into the next nearby contract.

The pork cutout Thursday climbed $0.79 per hundredweight to $61.57. The latest Dow Jones Newswires packer margin index is at plus $0.40 per head, compared with minus $0.22 the previous day.

Pork belly futures are expected to open flat to weaker on follow through selling from Thursday's lower session and pressure from continued large hog supplies.