CHICAGO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - CME Group live cattle futures finished higher on Monday as rising boxed beef prices signaled there is demand in the market, brokers said.
Choice cuts of boxed beef rose by $1 to $263.83 per hundredweight, after climbing by $8.53 on Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Select cuts of boxed beef increased by $3.12 to 238.57 per hundredweight on Monday, after jumping by $6.94 on Friday.
Benchmark CME February live cattle advanced 0.275 cent to end at 156.050 cents per pound.
The spot December live cattle contract settled up 0.225 cent at 155.275 cents per pound. The trading volume in December live cattle futures is thin before the contract expires on Dec. 30.
Trading of cash cattle is expected to be steady this week ahead of the Christmas holiday, a broker said.
Feeder cattle futures, meanwhile, settled weaker, with the January contract sliding 1.675 cents to 182.100 cents per pound.
In the hog market, the most-active futures contract topped a one-week high before closing lower. The market also rose on Friday in a rebound from a two-month low reached on Thursday, brokers said.
CME February lean hogs closed down 0.075 cent at 85.700 cents per pound after reaching their highest price since Dec. 7 at 86.550 cents per pound. February hogs on Thursday hit their lowest price since Oct. 14 at 81.525 cents.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to issue a quarterly Hogs and Pigs report on Friday, along with monthly Cattle on Feed data. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
