LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures end modestly higher on packer demand

CHICAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures closed modestly higher on Wednesday, hovering near historic peaks due to strong demand from meat packers who need cattle to process ahead of the U.S. grilling season, analysts said.

Benchmark CME June live cattle LCM26 settled up 0.125 cent at 245.925 cents per pound. The thinly traded April contract LCJ26 reached 249.750 cents, an all-time high on a continuous chart of the front LCc1 live cattle contract, before settling at 249.0 cents.

CME May feeder cattle futures FCK26 rose 1.375 cents to end at 368.0 cents per pound.

Cash markets for slaughter-ready cattle were mostly inactive after surging to $245 to $246 per hundredweight last week in Texas and Kansas. Some analysts expect that average cash prices will be steady or higher this week.

Strong profit margins for beef in late March spurred meat packers to source more cattle this month. Also, workers at a JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, agreed to return to work this week after a three-week labor stoppage, adding to demand for animals.

"So you have all these cattle buyers looking to buy. As a result, the feedlots have raised their asking prices," said Altin Kalo, economist at Steiner Consulting Group.

Strength on Wall Street lent support. All three major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply higher after a two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran lifted investor sentiment. .N

Meanwhile, wholesale beef prices have been retreating from multi-month highs set in mid-March. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported choice beef cuts at $379.66 per cwt on Wednesday afternoon, down $3.08 from Tuesday.

CME lean hog futures closed lower for a second session. The most-active June contract LHM26 settled down 2.400 cents at 104.650 cents per pound.

The USDA quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $96.91 per cwt late on Wednesday, down 91 cents from Tuesday.