CHICAGO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Feeder cattle futures slid to their lowest level in more than a month at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday, while live cattle futures neared a two-week low.
Fund liquidation and technical selling pushed down prices, brokers said. Some market participants booked profits before the end of the month and quarter, and ahead of a possible U.S. government shutdown, they said.
October feeder cattle hit their lowest price since Aug. 24 at 251.625 cents per pound before closing 1.625 cents lower at 252.250 cents per pound.
Most-active November feeders ended down 2.075 cents at 254.800 cents per pound after reaching their lowest price since Aug. 25 at 254.350 cents per pound.
For live cattle futures, the most-active December contract hit its lowest price since Sept. 14 at 187.725 cents per pound and closed down 0.300 cent at 188.175 cents per pound.
Follow-through selling pressured prices, said Dennis Smith, commodity broker for Archer Financial Services.
"Yesterday it was a fund dump day," Smith said. "This is simply a flush."
On Thursday, livestock traders will review weekly U.S. beef and pork export sales data.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is separately slated to issue a quarterly Hogs and Pigs report on Thursday that analysts expect will show the nation's herd was slightly smaller on Sept. 1 than a year earlier. Producers have struggled with losing money this year due to weak pig prices and high operational costs.
"We're liquidating the herd," Smith said.
In China, the sow herd in August fell 0.7% against the prior month, while the herd of breeding females was 1.9% lower, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said. The number of pigs slaughtered at big facilities in China, the world's largest pork producer and consumer, was 22.1% higher in August than a year earlier.
Most-active CME December lean hogs rose 0.425 cent to finish at 72.775 cents per pound. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
