Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) set life-of-contract highs on Friday, supported by strong cash markets, tight cattle supplies and continued consumer demand for beef, Reuters reported , citing analysts. Most-active CME June live cattle settled up 2 cents at 249.200 cents per pound after posting a contract high at 249.950 cents. The thinly traded April contract reached 252.250 cents, an all-time high on a continuous chart of the front live cattle contract, before settling at 251.775 cents. CME May feeder cattle futures rose 1.925 cents to finish at 372.350 cents per pound. Slaughter-ready cattle traded in Iowa at $250 per hundredweight, traders said on Friday, up about $5 from the previous week's cash price. Meat packers have been paying high prices for cattle due to expectations for a seasonal upswing in beef demand as grilling season approaches, analysts said this week. Also, packer margins turned positive in late March, stoking demand for cattle, ...