LIVESTOCK-Fund buying rallies U.S. hog futures

* Short covering lifts CME live cattle
* Feeders gain with live cattle futures

By Meredith Davis
CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - CME lean hogs ended higher on
Wednesday, supported by fund buying after futures returned above
technical resistance levels, traders and analyst said.
December hogs settled 0.825 cent per lb higher at
86.250 cents and above the 100-day moving average of 85.34
cents.
February closed up 1.025 cents at 90.925 cents. It
finished above the 10-day and 40-day moving averages of 90.88
and 90.61 cents, respectively.
December hog futures finished up nearly 1 percent after
brushing off lower wholesale pork prices. Hog weights at a

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record high for a third straight week added more pork to the
retail sector.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wednesday morning
wholesale pork price fell $1.70 from Tuesday to $89.26 per cwt.
Average hog weights for the week ended Nov. 16 in the
closely followed Iowa/Minnesota market reached a record at 281.2
lbs, surpassing the prior week's record of 280.8 lbs, according
to USDA data.
Concerns regarding the impact of the Porcine Epidemic
Diarrhea virus (PEDv), a fatal baby pig disease, on hog
production pushed up deferred contracts, traders and analysts
said.

LIVE CATTLE FINISH HIGHER
CME live cattle futures gained modestly on short covering
following recent market losses, traders said.
They said uncertainty about this week's cash prices and
wholesale beef demand limited gains.
There were no cash cattle bids reported on Wednesday versus

asking prices in Texas and Kansas from $132 to $134 per cwt,
feedlot sources said. Last week, cash-basis cattle traded at
$132 per cwt.
"I would have called cash prices steady for this week. But
based on the (futures) trading action of the last two days I
think they may be $1 lower," Oak Investment Group President Joe
Ocrant said.
This week's cash cattle price direction remains elusive to
market investors due to tepid wholesale beef demand and
still-poor packer margins.
"The (futures) market is anticipating cash weakness. We will
be lucky to see steady money," said Domenic Varricchio,
commodities broker at Schwieterman Inc.
USDA reported on Wednesday morning the choice beef wholesale
price, or cutout, at $199.55 per cwt, up 53 cents from Tuesday.
Select cuts slid 56 cents to $187.34.
Wednesday's mixed cutout could mean ham and turkey buying by
supermarkets is done for the week and grocers may start buying
beef for post-Thanksgiving features, a trader said.

Live cattle December finished up 0.100 cent per lb
at 131.050 cents, and February closed at 131.950 cents,
or 0.275 cent higher.
CME feeder cattle drew support from higher live cattle
futures and weak Chicago Board of Trade corn prices.
November feeder cattle, which will expire on Nov.
22, closed up 0.200 cent at 164.575 cents per lb. January
ended at 162.750 cents, 0.350 cent higher.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)