LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures mixed as cash market softens

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ticked higher on Tuesday while live cattle futures slipped as market players weighed a softening cash market and consumer demand for beef, analysts said.

CME December live cattle futures LCZ25 settled down 1.35 cents to end at 227.20 cents per pound, and CME January feeder cattle FCF26 ended 0.325 cent higher, closing at 329.15 cents per pound.

In the previous session, daily limits widened to 13.750 cents for feeder cattle futures and 10.750 cents for live cattle in Tuesday's trading session, the exchange said.

Cattle futures have remained underpinned by a small cattle herd, after a lengthy drought and the halt of Mexican cattle imports due to an outbreak of screwworm.

The reopening of the federal government has pushed stock markets higher, providing spillover support to livestock futures.

However, concerns about weakness in the U.S. labor market after a report showed private employers cutting jobs have injected doubt about consumer demand for beef, which is one of the priciest proteins in grocery stores.

Last week, Trump accused meatpacking companies of driving up beef prices and ordered a Justice Department investigation, after a White House official said last month the U.S. could quadruple low-tariff beef imports from Argentina.

The nearby CME December lean hog contract LHZ25 settled up 3.375 cents at 82.775 cents per pound.