CHICAGO, July 3 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased and feeder cattle futures ticked up on Monday, as corn prices faced a choppy trading day at the start of this holiday-shortened week, traders said.
Meanwhile, the hog market ended the day mixed, with nearby contracts continuing to be bullish on growing buyer interest, traders said.
"Weights have been down, so we'll see the prices go up," said Don Roose, president of Iowa-based U.S. Commodities.
China's state planner said on Monday that it will start the second batch of pork reserve purchasing as the hog price has fallen into a warning zone.
U.S. markets, including the CME, will be closed on Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday.
CME August live cattle futures settled down 0.35-cent at 176.825 cents per pound, and October futures ended up 0.225 cent at 179.325 cents.
Nearly all feeder cattle futures set life-of-contract highs on Monday. Most-active August feeder cattle finished up 0.325 cent at 247.900 cents per pound.
Wholesale beef prices firmed on Monday morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture priced choice cuts at $328.73 per cwt, up $1.01 from Friday.
Beef processors' estimated margins fell to $127.95 per head of cattle on Monday, down from $129.80 per head on Friday and $178.30 a week ago, livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com said.
Benchmark CME August lean hogs settled up 1.725 cents at 94.325 cents per pound. (Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
