LIVESTOCK-CME cattle futures dip after following the cash trade up

CHICAGO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ticked down on Wednesday after climbing on Tuesday, taking their cue from the cash markets, according to analysts.

CME April live cattle futures LCJ26 settled 0.275 cent lower to 242.525 cents per pound. March feeder cattle FCH26 ended 0.400 cent lower at 370.575 cents per pound.

Beef packers lost $345.45 per head on Wednesday, compared with losses of $318.95 per head on Tuesday, according to livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 113,000 cattle were slaughtered on Wednesday.

Choice cuts of beef were priced at $363.80 per hundredweight, down 96 cents from Tuesday, according to USDA data.

Select cuts of beef rose $0.41 to $360.63 per cwt. Consumer demand for beef has remained strong, despite record-high beef prices.

Lean hog futures firmed, having swung back and forth over the previous weeks on concerns about winter weather and diseases in the herd, according to Altin Kalo, head economist at Steiner Consulting Group.

In boxed pork, the USDA reported pork carcasses at $95.56 per cwt, down $0.32.

CME April hogs LHJ26 settled 0.250 cent higher at 92.55 cents per pound.