CHICAGO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Tuesday after two sessions higher, as traders watch to see the impact of sweltering temperatures on slaughter-ready cattle, analysts said.
"The heat does hurt the weights. That's been an issue for a lot of the south, for a lot of the summer," said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities.
Most-active October live cattle slid 1.250 cents to 178.625 cents per pound. September feeder cattle dipped 1.325 cents to close at 249.000 cents per pound.
Beef packer margins declined versus Monday and a week ago, falling to 47.30 per head, according to Denver-based Hedgers Edge.
Boxed beef prices firmed, with choice cuts adding $1.49 to $317.05 per hundredweight (cwt), while select cuts gained $2.18 to $289.51 per cwt., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cattle slaughter fell to 124,000 head, down from 125,000 a week earlier and 127,00 the same period last year, the USDA said.
CME lean hog futures eased for a second session, pressured by a seasonal increase in supplies, analysts said.
"Hog supplies are going to be larger, but we’re still in a liquidation in hogs, so we have pressure here to end the year," said Roose.
The most-active October futures lost 1.050 cents to 79.575 cents per pound.
Daily hog slaughter of 476,000 head was down from 482,000 the same period last year.
The USDA quoted the wholesale pork carcass cutout at $103.65 per cwt, down 1.56 cents from Monday. (Reporting by Christopher Walljasper; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
