CHICAGO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures dropped to their lowest level in six weeks on Monday on technical selling and ample U.S. supplies, brokers said.
The market has pulled back after rising on Aug. 1 to its highest price since March.
"Hogs are doing what they do - trying to find that near-term bottom that tells us that this correction is over," a broker said.
Most-active October lean hog futures sank 2.175 cents to end at 79.150 cents per pound and touched their lowest price since July 3.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $109.08 per cwt, down $1. Cutout values for pork bellies slipped $2.56 to $198.39 per cwt.
Pork processors slaughtered an estimated 461,515 hogs, up from 411,000 hogs a week ago and 444,000 hogs a year earlier, the USDA said in a separate report.
Cattle slaughtering, meanwhile, declined to 119,000 head of cattle on Monday from 123,000 cattle a week ago and 121,000 cattle last year, the USDA said.
U.S. cattle supplies are tight as drought has reduced the amount of pasture available for grazing and driven producers to send more cattle to slaughter over the last year.
Meat packers lost an estimated $77.40 for each head of cattle they processed on Monday, compared with a loss of $66 a week ago, HedgersEdge.com said.
Brazilian meat company JBS SA reported a second-quarter loss, in part due to tighter margins for its beef business in the United States, where it gets most of its sales.
Most-active CME October live cattle dropped 0.650 cent to 180.675 cents per pound. September feeder cattle futures slid 1.325 cents to 250.125 cents per pound.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
