CME cattle ends higher with tight supplies ahead of Memorial Day

CHICAGO, April 24 (Reuters) – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ticked up on Thursday, supported by tight cattle supplies ahead of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday.

CME June live cattle futures settled down 0.100 cent at 208.000 cents per pound, though the nearby April contract reached life of contract highs and all other contracts rose.

August feeder cattle futures ended 0.525 cent higher at 292.700 cents per pound.

Packers were searching for cattle for slaughter operations at a time of ongoing short cattle supplies, said Altin Kalo, head economist at Steiner Consulting Group.

He said the packers were willing to pay high prices to fulfill orders ahead of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday next month, when grilling is traditionally popular.

But, Kalo said the gains were capped by uncertainty about consumer demand for high-priced beef after Memorial Day.

“It’s still a question mark,” Kalo said.

Packers faced estimated losses of $143.40 per head on Thursday, compared with losses of $94.95 a week ago, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.

In the wholesale beef market, choice cuts of boxed beef rose $1.73 to $333.70 per hundredweight (cwt) on Thursday afternoon and select cuts rose $1.83 to $316.35 per cwt, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CME June lean hog futures fell 0.225 cent at 99.925 cents per pound.

Futures were pressured by fresh pork prices, which have been lower than expected, said Kalo, possibly due to a later Easter holiday.

In wholesale pork values, the USDA reported pork carcasses rose $1.78 to $95.86 per cwt on Thursday afternoon, while bellies fell $1.73 to $143.46 per cwt.

The lean hog index price for the two days ending April 22 was $86.75, according to CME, and was $86.08 for the two days ending April 21.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)