Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 9/29/14

Posted 10 years 60 days ago by

Feeder cattle mostly steady, some $2-$10 higher; futures sharply higher.
Fed cattle cash trade inactive; formula trades lower; futures sharply higher.
Choice beef prices lower; Select-grade higher.
Cotton higher.
Grains and soybeans higher.
Crude oil and natural gas higher.
Stock markets higher.

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices mostly steady, with more attractive offerings as much as $10 higher. Feeder cattle futures were higher with the first three contract months all up their $3 per cwt daily trading limit. Falling corn futures and higher fed cattle futures pushed feeder cattle higher. The fed cattle cash trade remained inactive across all major U.S. cattle feeding regions. A few head sold in Iowa, but not enough to establish a market trend. Packers are trying to bring prices down to offset recent declines in beef values, but reduced cattle numbers have feedlots holding out for higher prices. Formula trades, which cover the vast majority of fed cattle sales, did slip a little lower on Friday. Wholesale beef values were again lower for Choice offerings, but modestly higher for Select-grade cuts. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 572,000 head, up 1K from a week earlier, but down 53K from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is running 7% lower. Fed cattle futures were higher, with nearby contracts up their $3 daily trading limit as traders expected the tight supplies to push prices higher.

Cotton prices were higher on Friday, but still lower for the week as news out of China continued to dominate the market. Chinese cotton futures were a little higher, which helped pull up prices here. In addition, rain in Texas slowed module movement to gins, caused harvest delays and raised concerns about damage to crop quality. There were also comments that China will likely end up needing to import more cotton that the WTO minimum because of the low quality of its reserves. Its prior policies have promoted quantity over quality and that has resulted in huge government holdings of cotton that does not meet the standards that its mills require. Chinese officials said late last week that they will likely hold off on releasing cotton from their reserves until they can clear this year’s crop through the market.

Wheat prices were unchanged to lower as large world supplies and rain in U.S. winter wheat areas continued to pressure the market.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower as harvest pressure builds from a record-large corn crop. Weather forecast look favorable and harvest activity was expected to pick up over the weekend through early this week. Reports suggests yields have been very good and better than expected in many instances.

Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Commerce Department revised second quarter economic growth to +4.6%, up from its initial estimate of +4.2% and equal expectations to pre-report expectations. In addition, a leading consumer sentiment index came in higher than a month ago and also in line with expectations.

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.