February hog futures rose 0.6 cent, or 0.7%, at 86.62 cents a pound in trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CME April hog futures rose 0.37 cent, or 0.4%, to 88.22 cents a pound.

The hog complex continued to gain momentum on Wednesday as wholesale hog markets pointed to a more bullish balance between supplies and demand from pork processors. Prices for slaughter-ready hogs fell during winter as producers moved through their period of peak annual production, even as pork demand entered a typical seasonal lull following the holidays.

Cash hog prices have remained firm this week as processors have been unable to secure necessary supplies at lower prices. The strength of wholesale hog markets helped support futures despite a second consecutive daily drop in wholesale pork prices on Tuesday, down 54 cents a hundred pounds to $84.73.

Hog futures also continued to reflect a surge in interest from outside investors. Fresh investments have been building in livestock futures in recent sessions after supplies of cattle have appeared to tighten sooner than expected. Analysts continue to expect a global surge in meat demand, combined with falling production of American been and poultry, to support high prices all year.

Cash hog prices across the Midwest direct markets were reported generally steady. A seasonal tightening of supplies is expected to keep packers in the market for hogs and result in mainly stable prices near-term.

Lighter average weights last week in Iowa/southern Minnesota, reported at 275.3 pounds by the USDA, down 1.1 pounds from the previous week, were considered somewhat supportive for the cash market. The lighter weights show producers are more current, or up to date on shipments, and have less urgency to sell. In addition, lighter weights would result in less pork produced per animal, which could help lift wholesale pork prices.

Most of the processing plants appear to have adequate supplies of hogs for this week's operations, including Saturday, but buyers are adding to their inventories for next week's slaughter.

Projections for the weekend slaughter are mostly from 55,000 to 60,000 head, putting the week's total targeting about 2.19 million head, near the year-ago figure.

The terminal markets traded from steady to 50 cents higher today with top prices reported from $59 to $61 on a live basis.

The latest Dow Jones Newswires pork packer margin index was minus $6.30 per head, compared with minus $4.10 the previous day.

CATTLE COMPLEX

Live cattle futures finished choppy as traders continued to adjust positions following a recent rally, and before a USDA supply report on Friday.

Cattle for February delivery rose 0.05 cent, or essentially unchanged, at $1.2585 a pound in trading at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. April cattle finished exactly unchanged at $1.2917 a pound. January feeder cattle rose 0.1% to $1.5252 a pound.