LIVESTOCK-CME cattle, hog futures rise on fund buying

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, April 16 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures moved higher on Wednesday as a weaker dollar and a seasonal uptick in demand supported prices, traders said.

Retailer demand for beef and pork has increased as the start of the grilling season approaches.

CME June live cattle futures LCM25 settled up 2.275 cents to end at 202.075 cents per pound and May feeder cattle futures FCK25 ended 1.875 cents higher to 284.4 cents per pound.

In the beef market, choice cuts of boxed beef fell $1.37 to $334.06 per hundredweight (cwt) and select cuts fell 45 cents to $314.79 per cwt on Wednesday morning, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The dollar index .DXY moved back toward three-year lows reached after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his tariff policies. USD/ MKTS/GLOB

A weakening dollar makes U.S. agricultural products more competitive globally.

"The dollar getting cheaper makes commodities more attractive," Matthew Wiegand, broker at FuturesOne, said. "Money is rotating back to commodities."

Expectations that the USDA's Thursday cattle on feed report will show tight cattle stocks have also helped fuel a rebound in prices, an analyst said.

U.S. April 1 cattle on feed are estimated to be down 1.8% from a year ago, a Reuters poll of analysts showed.

CME June lean hog futures LHM25 settled up 2.775 cents to 97.95 cents per pound. Hog futures have also increased on steadying equities markets, analysts said.

The USDA priced pork carcasses rose 89 cents to $92.62 per cwt.