LIVESTOCK-CME cattle notch record highs after US halts Mexican cattle imports

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, May 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder cattle futures notched lifetime highs on Monday after Washington suspended cattle imports from Mexico over a flesh-eating parasite, which Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denounced as unfair, traders said.

New World screwworm maggots burrow into open wounds on cattle and other animals, often killing their host within weeks. Though the U.S. eradicated screwworm in 1966, the Department of Agriculture has issued a warning about the potential risk of its re-introduction.

The suspension of cattle imports from Mexico will further tighten the supply of cattle, already at its lowest in decades.

CME June live cattle futures LCM25 settled 2.15 cents higher to 216.825 cents per pound. August feeder cattle futures FCQ25 rose 6.075 cents to 306.375 cents per pound.

CME June lean hog futures LHM25 rose 0.725 cent to close at 98.3 cents per pound.

The U.S. and China agreed on Monday to temporarily slash their steep tariffs on each other, helping to propel livestock futures higher as the world's top two economies tapped the brakes on a trade war that had fed fears of a global recession.

The loss of China as an export market for U.S. pork products amid the ongoing trade war had weighed heavily on hog futures.

While most U.S. beef plants are unable to export beef to China after the country declined to renew export registrations, the thawing U.S.-China trade relationship has brought positive sentiment into the market, traders said.

"There's optimism that they might let beef imports come back in but that's speculation on the part of the market," independent livestock trader Dan Norcini said.

Choice cuts of boxed beef were last up $2.17 to $348.14 per hundredweight on Monday afternoon, while select cuts rose $4.06 to $335.23 per hundredweight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The losses came after multiple weeks of steady gains.