CHICAGO, July 26 (Reuters) - Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME) mostly firmed on Wednesday, with feeder cattle seeing a boost by weakness in corn futures, analysts said.
CME August live cattle futures rose 0.375 cent on Wednesday, settling at 178.675 cents per pound. Most-active October rose 0.350 cent to settle at 179.95 cents per pound.
CME August feeder cattle futures ended up 0.975 cent at 244.200 cents per pound.
On Wednesday, meat packers continued to see profit margins stay in the red, losing an estimated $75.20 per head of cattle, according to Denver-based livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com LLC.
While daily cattle slaughter rates increased on Wednesday, margins on cattle have been in negative territory since mid-July.
Cash cattle prices have turned higher in recent days, with cattle trading steady to $2 higher this week, said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities. A shrinking U.S. cattle herd continues to underpin the market.
Meanwhile, lean hog futures eased as prices turned lower for pork bellies, used to make bacon, which weighed on cash hog prices. The USDA priced wholesale bellies on Wednesday morning at $208.04 per cwt, down $2.75 per cwt on Tuesday.
CME October lean hog futures settled down 0.750 cent at 83.625 cents per pound. (Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; editing by Diane Craft)
