Lean hog futures end slightly higher - CME

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) feeder cattle and live cattle futures finished lower on Thursday as traders booked profits following a lengthy rally and ahead of the end of the month, Reuters reported, citing analysts.

Lean hog futures ended slightly higher as traders unwound spread trades in which they held long positions in cattle and short positions in hogs, and as market players eyed a tighter supply of hogs.

The most-active CME April live cattle contract ended down 3.45 cents to 201.5 cents per pound. CME March feeder cattle settled down 2.075 cents at 273.20 cents per pound, after hitting lifetime highs the previous day.

"We've had a good rally the last few weeks, and we're seeing some longs take money off the table before the end of month," said Austin Schroeder, analyst at Brugler Marketing.

Analysts said demand from meatpackers has waned as they have purchased all the cattle they need for the week.

Weakening boxed beef cutout values also added pressure to cattle futures. Choice cuts of boxed beef fell $3.06 to $327.48 per hundredweight (cwt) on Thursday afternoon, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Select cuts fell $4.77 to $315.90 per cwt.

A tight supply of US cattle and a temporary US ban on Mexican shipments after the discovery of New World screwworm in Mexico continued to keep a floor under prices.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the head of Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture will appear at her daily press conference on Friday to discuss the reopening of cattle exports to the US.

The USDA said it had no updates regarding the timeline to resume imports. It is slated to issue a report on US cattle inventory levels after trading ends on Friday.