CME live cattle futures firm on positioning before USDA report

Oct 31 (Reuters) - CME live cattle futures turned higher on
Thursday, with investors adjusting positions ahead of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture monthly cattle-on-feed report at 2
p.m. CDT (1900 GMT), traders said.
* Analysts polled by Reuters said U.S. feedlot cattle
placements likely increased 1.2 percent in September from a year
earlier as lower-cost corn encouraged feedlots to buy young
cattle to fatten.
* Also on Thursday, the USDA will simultaneously release its
monthly cold storage report, including September total beef and
pork inventories.
* Both reports will be released while CME livestock markets

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trade electronically after the pit sessions close.
* CME live cattle also gained in anticipation of at least
steady cash prices this week as wholesale beef prices worked
higher.
* There were no deliveries posted by CME late Wednesday
against the October live cattle contract, expiring Thursday at
noon CDT (1700 GMT).
* The USDA weekly export report Thursday morning showed U.S.
beef sales last week at 55,500 tonnes, mostly to Mexico,
compared with 10,400 tonnes the previous week.
* "The government is playing catch-up from the shutdown by
essentially lumping three weeks of export data into one, which
distorts the results," a trader said.
* South Korea plans to end its ban on animal feed additive
zilpaterol early next year, a senior food ministry official
said, opening the door to beef imports containing the growth
enhancer and its domestic sale.

LIVE CATTLE - At 8:51 a.m. CDT (1351 GMT), October
was up 0.300 cent at 133.650 cents per lb. December was
at 133.500 cents, up 0.375 cent.
* Cash cattle bids surfaced in Texas and Kansas at $130 per
cwt (hundredweight), with no response from sellers, feedlot
sources said.
* Bullish traders anticipated cash cattle trading steady to
higher with last week's record-high price of $132 per cwt.
* They said overall tight cattle numbers and the recent
surge in wholesale beef values can lend cash support.
* Market bears contend packers will cut back slaughter to
avoid spending more for supplies and recoup lost margins.

* FEEDER CATTLE - October was up 0.075 cent to
165.300 cents per lb, while November was at 165.400
cents, 0.450 cent higher.
* October feeders cattle are guided by CME's feeder cattle
index at 165.24 cents. CME October feeder cattle will also
expire today at noon CDT (1700 GMT).
* Short-covering and live cattle market gains lifted
remaining feeder cattle futures.

LEAN HOGS - December was at 90.275 cents per lb, down

0.125 cent, while February slipped 0.150 cent to 92.950
cents.
* Lower cash hog and wholesale pork prices pressured CME
hogs, traders said.
* Packers have all the hogs they need going into the
weekend, a trader said. And grocers are hesitant to book large
pork orders as their attention turns to turkey demand for the
U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, he said.
* On Thursday, the USDA reported U.S. pork export sales last
week at 23,500 tonnes, mainly to Mexico, compared with 8,600
tonnes the previous week.

(Reporting by Theopolis Waters in Chicago; Editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe)