CHICAGO, July 11 (Reuters) -
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures turned higher on Thursday on a spate of bargain-buying, after the most-active August contract set a new low during the session, traders said.
The mid-day slump came a day after the August contract plunged limit down as hefty oversupply, sluggish consumer demand and pressure across the grain and oilseed markets dragged on livestock markets, traders said.
"The market is in trouble and is headed lower," Dennis Smith, broker at Archer Financial Services, said. "The hog outlook is bearish and demand is not up to task."
CME feeder cattle futures also firmed on Thursday on a technical bounce and bargain seeking, while live cattle futures were steady to slightly higher.
"The cattle market took a big dive in the previous two sessions and is stabilizing today," Smith said.
Still, beef sales slumped as government data showed on Thursday that weekly exports were down 11% from the prior week, said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag.
Meanwhile, wholesale beef prices turned lower for a second day on Thursday, a possible sign that the counter-seasonal boom in prices may be cooling, market analysts said.
On Thursday afternoon, prices for choice boxed beef cutout was down $2.40 at $321.65 per hundredweight (cwt), while select was down 56-cents at $303.38 per cwt, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
CME August lean hog futures settled up 2 cents at 86.675 cents per pound. Earlier in the session, it hit a new contract low during the session of 83.675 cents per pound. October lean hog futures ended up 1.075 cents at 69.400 cents per pound.
The CME August live cattle contract remained steady at 182.250 cents per pound. CME August feeders finished up 1.800 cents at 256.150 cents per pound. (Reporting by Heather Schlitz; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
