CHICAGO, April 12 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile exchange lean hog futures dropped sharply on Monday, with numerous contracts closing down the daily 3 cent limit on a round of profit-taking after the front month contract hit its highest since June 2014 last week.
"We have had a strong run and we are coming up a little bit short on fresh bullish inputs," said Matthew Wiegand, a risk management consultant and commodity broker at FuturesOne in Nebraska. "That creates a bit of an opportunity for profit taking in the absence of something to take us higher."
CME June lean hogs dropped 3 cents to 105.95 cents per pound. The May and July contracts also posted limit down moves but losses in the front-month April contract were kept in check from tight supplies in the cash market.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the pork carcass cutout value on Monday afternoon at $110.10, down $3.07 from the nearly 11-month high it hit on Friday.
Cattle contracts also ended in negative territory.
CME June live cattle settled 0.475 cent lower at 122.1 cents per pound.
Live cattle was pressured by follow-through selling as the market extended its retreat from a 15-month high the front-month contract hit on Thursday.
Feeder cattle also eased, with the May futures contract shedding 0.025 cents to 149.6 cents per pound. (Reporting by Mark Weinraub; Editing by Will Dunham)
