Live Cattle Futures Little Changed

February live cattle is trading at 117.27, down 0.20 cents/lb. April live cattle is trading at 116.42, down 0.05 cents/lb. June live cattle is trading at 106.52, down 0.30 cents/lb

Thursday's USDA cattle slaughter was 116,000 head the total for the week is 464,000 head versus 446,000 head a year ago.

Average steer weights for the week ending December 31st were 900 pounds, up from 897 the previous week and up from 856 pounds a year ago. Weights normally edge lower at this time of the year and has led to some limited selling. Beef production for that week was 428.7 million pounds, up over 4 percent versus a year ago. The USDA expects beef production in the first quarter to up 2.3 percent from a year ago.