By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, June 26 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures closed mostly lower on profit-taking on Friday, as sluggish sales in the cash cattle markets this week pressured prices, market analysts said.

Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures were mixed, though futures prices were supported by a smaller-than-expected U.S. hog herd in the latest government quarterly inventory report, traders said. Hog futures also saw some spot bargain buying in some contracts, they said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's hogs and pigs report, released after the close of trade on Thursday, showed the total hog herd was roughly the same as the previous year, while analysts surveyed by Reuters on average had expected the government to show a slightly larger herd, at 100.9% of a year ago.

"While numbers were not much different than expectations, the hog complex is already oversold, and they were enough to generate short covering," Karl Setzer, a partner at Consus Ag Consulting, said in an analyst note on Friday.

Wholesale prices for pork also ticked up on Thursday afternoon, with the USDA reporting that pork carcasses were priced at $95.74 per hundredweight (cwt), up 15 cents. But wholesale prices for both ham and pork bellies turned lower, with bellies dropping $4.45 to $111.96 per cwt.

Most-active August LHQ26 hogs settled 0.025 cent lower at 96.575 cents.

In the cattle futures, USDA's cold storage report showed that U.S. beef stocks in May didn't really drop much compared to the same time a year earlier — a sign that some traders took to mean that consumer demand for high-priced beef may be slowing, Setzer said.

Still, beef demand is expected to remain strong over the next couple weeks, but it's not yet clear whether that demand continues past July 4, when U.S. consumers often host backyard parties and grill meat.

Wholesale prices dropped on Friday afternoon. USDA reported that values for choice cuts fell $5.29 to $391.01 per cwt, while select cuts dropped by $3.16 to $371.58 per cwt.

CME benchmark August LCQ26 live cattle ended 1.400 cents lower at 245.825 cents per pound, and the thinly traded June contract LCM26 set a fresh high during the session before settling up 0.050 cent at $257.450 per pound.

Meanwhile, CME August feeder cattle FCQ26 futures closed down 3.450 cents at 369.850 cents per pound.