LIVESTOCK-CME live cattle futures rise as US grilling season heats up

CHICAGO, May 19 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle turned higher on Monday, amid continued strength in the cash market and a spate of short covering, traders said.

Feeder cattle futures were mixed, with the most-active August FCQ25 contract turning lower for the fourth time in five sessions, traders said.

Meanwhile, lean hog futures were mixed. Nearby lean hog futures turned lower on technical trading as belly cut-out prices softened, as several deferred month contracts set new highs on the day.

CME lean hog June contract LHM25 closed 1.075 cents lower to 99.25 cents per pound.

CME August live cattle futures LCQ25 rose 1.175 cents to 207.925 cents per pound. August feeder cattle futures FCQ25 fell 0.125 cent to end at 297.475 cents per pound.

Consumer demand for beef and wholesale beef prices have stayed strong as the U.S. enters the height of grilling season. And cattle futures have also been underpinned by strong boxed beef prices and a tight cattle supply.

Ranchers and feedlots have been able to command steep cash prices from meatpackers that must increasingly compete to buy livestock to process into beef, said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.

"Demand in the cash market has been very strong, with prices hitting new highs last week," Roose said. "The next question will be how does beef sales move over the Memorial Day weekend. That's going to be key."

Choice cuts of boxed beef rose $1.40 to $353.89 per hundredweight on Monday morning, while select cuts rose $2.17 to $344.56 per hundredweight, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Futures prices set all-time highs last week after the U.S. suspended cattle imports from Mexico over an outbreak of New World screwworm in Mexican cattle.