LIVESTOCK — CME cattle notch new highs, end lower on technical selling
By Karl Plume CHICAGO, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures touched fresh multi-month highs on Tuesday on higher midday beef prices and solid packer margins, but ended the day lower as technical selling later dragged down prices. Cattle futures remain supported by tight supplies and good demand for beef. But limited cash market sales at Plains feedlots so far this week gave traders little incentive to carry prices much beyond last week's highs. CME December live cattle peaked at 227.600 cents per pound, 0.050 cent above Friday's high and the loftiest level since August 11. But the benchmark contract struggled to break through overhead technical resistance and ultimately settled 0.225 cent lower at 226.375 cents per pound. November feeders reached the highest level in three months, but hit chart resistance at their 200-day moving average and closed down 0.075 cent at 341.025 cents per pound. Wholesale beef values edged higher in a midday report from the US Department of Agriculture. Choice cuts, however, were lower in USDA's afternoon report at $375.15 per hundredweight, down 41 cents. Select cuts fell 46 cents to $353.67 per cwt. Estimated b