LIVESTOCK — CME cattle futures firm ahead of bullish USDA feedlot data

By Julie Ingwersen CHICAGO, Sept 18 (Reuters) — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ended modestly higher on Friday on bargain-buying following a three-session slide and ahead of a monthly feedlot report from the US Department of Agriculture, analysts said. The USDA's report, released after Friday's market close, pegged the number of US cattle on feed as of September 1 at 11.163 million head, up 0.7% from a year ago, while analysts surveyed on average had expected a larger increase of 1.7%. Feedlot placements during August fell well below expectations. The USDA reported placements for the month at 1.617 million head, down 9% year-on-year and the lowest August total in records dating to 1996. Analysts on average had expected only a 3.3% drop. "On its face, the Cattle on Feed (report) was clearly friendly today. That's a pretty good down-shift in placements," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for FuturesOne. Ahead of the report, CME October live cattle futures settled up 0.275 cent at 215.925 cents per pound. Benchmark December cattle ended up 0.375 cent at 216.625 cents a pound. CME feeder cattle futures declined, with the most-active October