LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures dip on flurry of profit-taking

By Heather Schlitz

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle and live cattle futures finished lower on Thursday as traders booked profits following a lengthy rally and ahead of the end of the month, analysts said.

Lean hog futures ended slightly higher as traders unwound spread trades in which they held long positions in cattle and short positions in hogs, and as market players eyed a tighter supply of hogs.

The most-active CME April live cattle contract LCJ25 ended down 3.45 cents to 201.5 cents per pound. CME March feeder cattle FCH25 settled down 2.075 cents at 273.20 cents per pound, after hitting lifetime highs the previous day.

"We've had a good rally the last few weeks, and we're seeing some longs take money off the table before the end of month," said Austin Schroeder, analyst at Brugler Marketing.

Analysts said demand from meatpackers has waned as they have purchased all the cattle they need for the week.

Weakening boxed beef cutout values also added pressure to cattle futures. Choice cuts of boxed beef fell $3.06 to $327.48 per hundredweight (cwt) on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Select cuts fell $4.77 to $315.90 per cwt.

A tight supply of U.S. cattle and a temporary U.S. ban on Mexican shipments after the discovery of New World screwworm in Mexico continued to keep a floor under prices.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the head of Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture will appear at her daily press conference on Friday to discuss the reopening of cattle exports to the U.S.

The USDA said it had no updates regarding the timeline to resume imports. It is slated to issue a report on U.S. cattle inventory levels after trading ends on Friday.

In hogs, the most-active CME April hogs LHJ25 ended up 0.6 cent at 91.925 cents per pound.

Traders are monitoring whether U.S. President Donald Trump will follow through on threats to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1, a move likely to spark retaliation.

Mexico is the biggest export market for U.S. pork and a major buyer of hams.