CHICAGO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Thursday, as packers backed off of buying ahead of the Labor Day holiday week that will limit slaughter, analysts said.
"There was some light trade today, slightly lower than last week," said Doug Houghton, technical analyst at Brock Capital Management. "I don't know how much they're gonna be buying."
The most-active October live cattle added 0.775 cents to 180.825 cents per pound, while October feeder cattle gained 0.800 cents to 256.025 cents per pound.
Beef packers slaughtered 124,000 head, down 1,000 head from the same period a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
Boxed beef prices eased, with choice cuts falling $1.32 to $313.79 per cwt., while select cuts dipped 28 cents to $289.25 per cwt, the USDA said.
Meanwhile CME lean hog futures stepped back after strong gains the day prior, as the cash index continues lower.
"It's just plunging seasonally," said Houghton. "On the other hand, we do have continued liquidation of the hog herd and hog slaughter has run probably above expectations."
The most-active October lean hog futures lost 1.050 cents to 82.550 cents per pound.
Pork processors slaughtered 469,000 head, up 4,000 from a week earlier but 15,000 lower than the same period last year, the USDA said.
The CME's Lean Hog Index, a two-day weighted average of cash prices, last fell to 93.89 cents per pound.
Wholesale pork carcass cutout added 10 cents by midday to $92.22 per cwt. (Reporting by Christopher Walljasper in Chicago; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
