Hog futures ease with December contract sliding - CME

Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) fell on Wednesday as market players focused on weaker boxed beef prices and a steady to softening cash trade, Reuters reported, citing analysts.

CME December live cattle futures settled down 1.925 cents to end at 225.275 cents per pound, and CME January feeder cattle ended 1.675 cent lower, closing at 327.475 cents per pound.

Beef production is increasing as packers get ready to meet the holiday demand, said Cassie Fish, analyst and author at the Beef blog. The cash trade is expected to be steady at best because the packers own plenty of inventory.

Choice boxed beef was down $4.77 on Wednesday afternoon to $374.45 per hundredweight (cwt), according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Select boxed beef fell $0.14 to $359.94 per cwt, according to the USDA.

The expected end of the US federal government shutdown has pushed stock markets higher, but concerns about weakness in the US labour market after a report showed private employers cutting jobs have created doubts about consumer demand for beef among investors. The protein is among the most expensive for US consumers.