Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were weaker on Wednesday, as a lack of fresh news had some participants moving to the sidelines.
The December live cattle contract lost 1.925 cents per pound at 225.275 cents. Feeder cattle were down 1.675 cents in the January contract at 327.475 cents per pound.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported wholesale boxed beef prices were weaker, with choice boxes down $4.77 at $374.45 per hundredweight and select boxes down $0.14 at $359.94/cwt.
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The possible reopening of the United States government kept some caution in the futures, as market participants will be watching any data that comes out for any confirmation of the strong consumer beef demand that reportedly contributed to the recent strength in the futures.
Lean hog prices were weaker, with the December contract down 1.725 cents at 80.625 cents per pound. Federally inspected hog slaughter for Tuesday was estimated at 460,000 head by the USDA, taking the weekly total to 954,000 head.
