LIVESTOCK-Cattle futures climb on bullish US jobs data; hogs end lower

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose on Wednesday on expectations for higher cash cattle trades this week and strong U.S. jobs data that could support consumer demand for beef, analysts said.

Tight U.S. cattle supplies continued to provide fundamental support for the market as well.

CME April live cattle futures LCJ26 settled up 3.550 cents at 240.975 cents per pound after reaching 241.225 cents, nearly high enough to fill a gap on the contract's chart that formed on February 5. CME March feeder cattle futures FCH26 finished up 2.675 cents at 367.450 cents.

Cash cattle trade had yet to develop for the week, but some brokers expected that market-ready cattle would trade above last week's values of up to $245 per hundredweight in Texas and Kansas and mostly $240 in Nebraska.

A stronger-than-expected employment report added support by easing worries about the economy, a favorable signal for beef demand, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist for Allendale Inc. U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department reported.

Hog futures closed lower, extending a retreat from last week's life-of-contract highs. Managed commodity funds hold a sizable net long position in CME hog futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of long liquidation.

CME April hogs LHJ26 settled down 1.650 cents at 93.850 cents per pound.

Lackluster wholesale pork values and cooling cash hog prices weighed on the market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced pork carcasses on Wednesday afternoon at $93.77 per hundredweight, down $1.69 from Tuesday.

"Cash hogs and pork have kind of stabilized in the past couple of weeks. Instead of posting consistent seasonal gains, they have been kind of sloppy," Nelson said.

The CME's Lean Hog Index .IHX, a two-day weighted average of cash prices, was last down 0.14 cent at 86.32 cents.