LIVESTOCK-Cattle futures rebound on tight cattle supply, strong cash market

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Tuesday as strong cash markets and a tight cattle supply buoyed prices.

CME October live cattle futures LCV25 rose 1.375 cents to settle at 238.20 cents per pound. September feeder cattle FCU25 rose 3.15 cents to settle at 365.05 cents per pound.

Reuters first reported on Sunday that the first human case in the United States of travel-associated New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, was detected in Maryland. The news prompted a wave of profit-taking.

The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was confirmed by the CDC as New World screwworm on August 4, and involved a patient who returned from travel to El Salvador, HHS spokesman Andrew G. Nixon said in an email to Reuters.

The choice boxed beef cutout value was last up $4.68 to $413.17 per hundredweight, according to USDA data on Tuesday afternoon. The select beef cutout was up $5.38 at $390.76 per hundredweight.

Despite near-record high beef prices, consumer demand has remained strong for beef.

A historically low supply of cattle, which has been further constrained by the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to feeder cattle imports due to the spread of screwworm, fueled a rally in cattle futures the previous week.

Lean hog futures ended slightly lower as CME October lean hogs LHV25 rose 2.025 cents to settle at 93.425 cents per pound.