LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures climb as frigid US weather curtails weight gains

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) rose on Tuesday, buoyed by frigid conditions across the U.S. Plains that may stress livestock and slow weight gains, according to analysts.

CME February live cattle LCG26 settled up 4.875 cents at 220.800 cents per pound, and January feeder cattle FCF26 jumped 8.800 cents to end at 329.875 cents per pound.

Snow fell over the weekend from northern Kansas through the Dakotas and across the Great Lakes states, and forecasts called for temperatures to plunge below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) throughout the upper Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily weather note.

"Higher cash feeder cattle prices and prospects for cash fed cattle to trade higher this week due to the very cold temperatures expected in the Plains ... is probably the main reason for the sharp gains in cattle futures," said Doug Houghton, analyst with Brock Associates.

Futures were also due for a technical bounce after nearby live cattle contracts fell last week to their lowest levels since May.

"Beef demand is starting to pick up for the holidays. It's a combination (of the) weather premium plus seasonal demand, giving us a push. And we just went too low for what we have going on," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.

Cattle prices soared to historic highs this year as the U.S. cattle herd shrunk to its smallest size in decades while beef demand remained robust.

Wholesale beef prices dipped. The USDA priced choice cuts of beef on Tuesday afternoon at $364.72 per cwt, down $4.17 from Monday, and select cuts fell by $7.10 to $350.78 per cwt.

Hog futures closed mostly lower. CME February lean hog futures LHG26 finished down 0.125 cent at 80.175 cents per pound.

Traders kept a close watch on an African swine fever outbreak among wild boar in Spain, as a task force of EU veterinarians began work in Barcelona to help contain the spread.

Spanish authorities, in one of the world's top pork-exporting nations, reported that the number of infected wild boars has climbed to nine.

Brokers were still assessing whether the outbreak would boost demand for U.S. pork, Roose said.

Meanwhile, the USDA priced pork carcasses on Tuesday afternoon at $94.22 per hundredweight, down $0.57 from Monday.