LIVESTOCK-CME cattle notch record highs on strong demand, trade talk optimism

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, May 9 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder cattle futures notched lifetime highs on Friday as optimism about warming relationships with the U.S. and major trading partners as well as strong beef demand drove futures higher, traders said.

Hog futures chopped up and down but ended the day higher ahead of Saturday's meeting between senior U.S. and Chinese officials.

The weekend U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva have been described by White House officials as a step toward de-escalating tensions and containing a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

China is a major buyer of U.S. pork products, and the loss of China as an export market for U.S. pork amid the ongoing trade war has weighed heavily on hog futures.

Though China is not a major buyer of U.S. beef, positive market sentiment has nonetheless trickled over into cattle futures.

"We're seeing an amazing market driven by psychology," Rich Nelson, strategist at Allendale, said.

CME June live cattle futures LCM25 settled 0.425 cent higher at 214.675 cents per pound. August feeder cattle futures FCQ25 fell 0.95 cent to end at 300.30 cents per pound.

CME June lean hog futures LHM25 rose 0.40 cent to close at 97.575 cents per pound.

Despite some worries about price-conscious consumers shying away from pricey beef, boxed beef prices have held strong most of the week.

Choice cuts of boxed beef fell $1.92 to $345.97 per hundredweight on Friday afternoon, while select cuts fell $2.03 to $331.17 per hundredweight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The losses came after multiple weeks of steady gains.