April 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle
futures turned lower on Wednesday, pressured by profit-taking
and uncertainty regarding cash prices this week, traders said.
* Sell stops and fund liquidation exerted more CME live
cattle pressure, they said.
* There were no deliveries reported by CME late on Tuesday
against the April live cattle contract.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture's cold storage report
late on Tuesday showed beef stocks in March totaled 404.8
million lbs, down 1 pct from the month before and down 21
percent from last year.
* At 8:39 a.m. CDT (1339 GMT), April live cattle was
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down 0.225 cent to 143.475 cents per lb, and June fell
0.300 cent to 134.675 cents.
* Futures will likely chop around until cash cattle changes
hands, a trader said.
* Packers may try to lower cash cattle bids based on their
negative, but improving, operating margins and more animals for
sale.
* Strong wholesale beef prices might underpin this week's
cash prices.
* Last week, cash cattle in Texas and Kansas moved at $147
per cwt, and at $148 in Nebraska, feedlot sources said.
* FEEDER CATTLE - May was at 178.475 cents, up 0.125
cent. August was down 0.025 cent to 182.250 cents.
* CME feeder cattle drew support from steady-to-higher cash
feeder cattle prices, but pressured by profit-taking and weak
live cattle futures.
* LEAN HOGS - May lean hogs were at 120.500 cents per
lb, down 0.525 cent, and most actively traded June
slipped 0.025 cent to 123.225 cents. July gained 0.275
cent to 121.275 cents.
* Nearby CME hog futures slipped in volatile trading
following late-Tuesday's wholesale pork price slump, but
speculative buying at times lifted remaining contracts.
* Tuesday's mixed cash hog prices offered no clear
direction regarding near-term cash prices, traders said.
* Still, some investors and hog dealers contend cash hog
prices could trend higher soon as demand for pork heat up for
spring grilling.
* Nearby futures' premiums to CME's hog index, at 119.65
cents, discouraged buyers, traders said.
* Government data on Wednesday showed hog weights in
Iowa/Minnesota for the week ended last Saturday averaged a
record-high 286.4 lbs, topping last week's 285.7-lb record and
up 9.3 lbs from a year earlier.
* Late-Tuesday's USDA data showed March pork inventories at
575.2 million lbs, down 12 pct from the previous month and down
11 percent from last year.
(Reporting by Theopolis Waters in Chicago)
CME live cattle futures weakened by cash price uncertainty
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