CHICAGO - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Wednesday rose for a third straight day, aided by follow-through buying and anticipation of at least steady cash prices by Friday, traders said.
* At 8:56 a.m. CDT, June live cattle, which will expire on Thursday, was up 0.300 cent to 117.375 cents per lb, and August was 0.725 cent higher at 113.450 cents.
* Futures' recent gains, far fewer cattle for sale than last week and healthy packer profits may underpin prices for market-ready, or cash, cattle, said traders.
* Still, processors are buying supplies for one less week of production due to the Fourth of July holiday. And, ramped up kills, as packers take advantage of good margins, weighed on wholesale beef values.
* On Tuesday, a small number of market-ready, or cash, cattle in Kansas sold at $117 per cwt, up $1 from last week.
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* Other cattle there and elsewhere in the U.S. Plains were priced at $118 to $120 versus last week's overall sales $116 to $117.
* Tuesday afternoon's wholesale choice beef price at $208.04 per cwt fell $2.56 from Monday. Select dropped 95 cents to $196.44, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
FEEDER CATTLE - August was 1.575 cents per lb higher at 142.250 cents, on buy stops and further live cattle futures advances.
LEAN HOGS - July lean hogs was up 0.050 cent per lb to 83.200 cents, and August was 0.175 cent per lb higher at 84.150.
* Tuesday's wholesale pork price bounce lifted CME lean hogs, although lower cash prices limited gains, said traders.
* The afternoon wholesale pork price on Tuesday jumped $1.86 per cwt from Monday to $90.86, the USDA said.
* USDA quoted Tuesday afternoon's average cash hog price in Iowa/Minnesota at $81.72 per cwt, 67 cents lower than on Monday.
* Packers need fewer animals with plants dark for Monday's holiday, and last-minute holiday purchases by grocers spiked the pork cutout price, a trader said.
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* Iowa/Minnesota hog weights averaged 277.8 lbs for the week ended June 25, down 1.4 lbs from the previous week and down 0.8 lb from the same period a year ago, based on Wednesday's government data.
* Week-over-week hog weights declined possibly because of hot weather, and farmers marketed hogs early to avoid lower cash prices ahead of holiday plant closures, an analyst said.
