Texas Agriculture Market Summary 8/4/14

Posted 10 years 116 days ago by

Feeder cattle steady to $10 higher; futures lower.
Fed cattle cash trade unchanged; formula trades higher; futures lower; beef prices lower.
Cotton cash prices lower; futures higher.
Grains and soybeans mostly lower, except wheat higher.
Crude oil and natural gas lower.
Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices steady to as much as $10 higher per cwt. Texas direct feeder cattle prices last week were $4-$7 higher, though some smaller price increases were reported later in the week. Feeder cattle futures were lower and still at a considerable discount to cash. The fed cattle cash trade held steady with a week ago at $162 per cwt, while formula trades pushed higher. Wholesale boxed beef values declined for both Choice and Select-grade offerings. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 574,000 head, up 3K from last week, but 48K lower than a year ago. Year-to-date cattle harvest is running 6.9% behind a year ago. Fed cattle futures were lower mostly due to speculative selling, but it was enough to pull cash fed cattle bids lower.

Cotton cash prices slipped lower, but futures were higher on the first day of the new-crop 2014/15 marketing year. There was little fresh news to move prices much in either direction and fundamentals remained mostly bearish. Burdensome world stocks and larger crops expected in the U.S. and India continue to keep a lid on prices.

Wheat prices were higher on Friday on hopes that U.S. wheat exports could get a boost from lower European crop quality and ongoing turmoil in the Black Sea region. However, those factors have not had much of an impact yet and may not be enough to offset the large world wheat supplies. Traders also noted that purchases by Nigeria and Pakistan could be signs of fresh demand.

Corn and grain sorghum were lower as prospects for large U.S. crops continue to pressure prices. We’re starting to see some early trade estimates ahead of the Aug. 12 USDA crop production forecast, with several predicting record or near-record yields.

Stock markets closed lower on Friday on a mixed set of economic data. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs during July, fewer than expected, but the sixth consecutive month that employment has grown by 200,000 or more jobs, the longest streak since 1997. A leading manufacturing index and a major consumer sentiment index both came in higher than expected.

Disclaimer: The information compiled in the Daily Market Summary is obtained from a variety of sources, including those available on the Internet, that are believed to be reliable and accurate, but are in no way guaranteed. This information is intended to provide only a summary of market trends and a daily snapshot of agricultural markets and economic indicators. It should not be relied upon as a sole source of market information. Commentary is the author’s alone and does not in any way convey official TDA policies.