Live Cattle Futures Little Changed

October live cattle is trading at 106.85, down 0.10 cents/lb. December live cattle is trading at 106.95, down 0.02 cents/lb. February live cattle is trading at 107.22, up 0.02 cents/lb. Live cattle futures are trading steady. Market chatter about cash prices and consumer demand ahead is making the rounds. Thursday's USDA cattle slaughter was 112,000 head. The total for the week is 442,000 head versus 450,000 head a year ago. Dressed steer weights for the week ending September 3rd were 898 pounds, versus 896 the previous week and down 1.75 percent from a year ago. The five year average weight during that time frame is around 878 pounds. Beef production was 507.6 million pounds, up 7.79 percent versus a year ago. Trading is expected to be choppy and on both sides of unchanged.