Live Cattle Futures Lower

October live cattle is trading at 112.87, down 0.52 cents/lb. December live cattle is trading at 113.87, down 0.37 cents/lb. Nearby August live cattle is trading at 114.97, down 0.52 cents/lb. Live cattle futures are trading lower just after the open Wednesday. Market chatter about cash prices, consumer demand and the upcoming U.S. Department of Agriculture's cattle-on-feed report due out Friday has kept buyers and sellers active. Tuesday's USDA estimated cattle slaughter was 113,000 head. The total for the week so far is 226,000 head, up from 223,000 head last week at this time and up from 215,000 head last year.