CHICAGO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower on Monday on a round of profit-taking, after the benchmark April contract set a 2-1/2-month high, traders said.
CME April live cattle futures settled down 0.450 cent at 181.225 cents per pound, retreating after rising to 183.450 cents, the contract's highest point since Nov. 7. Last week's firm cash cattle prices and technical buying underpinned the market, traders said.
CME March feeder cattle ended Monday down 1.075 cents to settle at 238.625 cents per pound.
U.S. wholesale beef prices declined by Monday afternoon, with choice cuts priced at $299.42 per cwt, down $1.11 from Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Traders await direction from Wednesday's biannual USDA cattle inventory report. In July, the government reported the U.S. beef cattle herd at 29.4 million head, the smallest for that date in USDA records dating to 1971.
CME lean hog futures ended modestly higher on Monday but the most-active April contract stayed inside of Friday's trading range. April hogs settled up 0.175 cent at 83.425 cents per pound.
Firm cash hog prices lent support. The CME's Lean Hog Index , a two-day weighted average of cash prices, rose to 69.90 cents per pound, its highest reading since Nov. 30.
The USDA priced the pork carcass cutout late Monday at $89.07 per cwt, down 44 cents from Friday. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
