CHICAGO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures firmed on Thursday, buoyed by a round of technical support as the market remained near last week's highs.
Feeder cattle contracts also posted gains, while lean hog futures were mixed
Traders said that tight supplies underpinned cattle futures prices despite demand concerns.
CME August live cattle futures ended 0.525 cent higher at 181.1 cents per pound, closing below its session peak after hitting resistance at the high end of its 20-day Bollinger range.
Most-active October live cattle rose 0.800 cent to 181.700 cents per pound, finding support from early weakness at its 20-day moving average.
September feeder cattle futures gained 0.95 cent to settle at 251.575 cents per pound, rising above their five-day and 10-day moving averages during the session.
In the lean hog market, the nearby August contract gained 0.075 cent to 101.725 cents per pound. The most-active October contract dropped 1.25 cents to 80.325 cents per pound, falling below its 20-day, 50-day and 100-day moving averages.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $113.01 on Thursday afternoon, compared with $109.12 per cwt on Wednesday. Cutout values for bellies were flat at $223.42.
USDA also reported weekly pork export sales of 22,300 metric tons, up from 17,800 metric tons a week earlier. Beef export sales rose to 14,800 metric tons from 12,400 metric tons. (Reporting by Mark Weinraub; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
