CHICAGO, March 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures ended lower on Thursday in a technical and profit-taking setback after rising to five-month highs on firm cash cattle prices, traders said.
Selling accelerated after April live cattle futures reached its highest point since October and filled in a chart gap left after the contract plunged as the market opened for trading on Oct. 23, they said.
The benchmark April contract peaked at 190.275 cents per pound before turning lower and settling at 186.950 cents per pound, down 2.975 cents. June live cattle futures ended 2.675 cents lower at 183.375 cents per pound.
Futures fell despite a firm tone to the cash cattle market in the U.S. Plains, where packer bids remained scarce but asking prices at many feedlots on Thursday were at least $2 per cwt higher than sales last week, traders said.
Wholesale beef prices were also higher, with the choice boxed beef cutout up 96 cents at $310.78 per cwt on Thursday afternoon, the highest in six months, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
"We can't attribute the (futures) selloff to anything cash related. The biggest issue today was technical," said Austin Schroeder, analyst for Brugler Marketing & Management in Nebraska.
"The April chart had a big gap at 190.275 (cents per pound) and that was the exact high today. So we went up and filled it and were immediately met with some sell orders," he said.
Feeder cattle futures also dropped on Thursday, with April futures ending down 4.675 cents at 251.175 cents per pound.
CME lean hog futures ended narrowly mixed.
The April contract settled up 0.150 cent at 85.025 cents per pound, while June hogs eased 0.300 cent to 101.425 cents per pound.
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Alan Barona)
