Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 12/8/14

Posted 10 years 21 days ago by

Feeder cattle mostly steady to $5 higher, few $4 lower; futures lower.
Fed cattle cash trade inactive; formula trades lower; futures lower; beef prices lower.
Cotton lower.
Grains and soybeans mostly higher, rice futures lower.
Crude oil lower; natural gas higher.
Stock markets higher.

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices mostly steady to $5 higher, with one location $4 lower on a few head. Feeder cattle futures were lower in response to higher corn futures and lower fed cattle. The Texas fed cattle cash trade remained inactive on Friday, though a few head sold in Kansas and Nebraska at $168, down $5 from last week’s average. Wholesale boxed beef values were lower to sharply lower. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 562,000 head, up 66K from the previous week’s holiday-shortened total, but down 67K from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 7.4%. Fed cattle futures were lower due to speculative selling and ongoing concerns about beef demand.

Cotton cash prices and futures were lower on Friday with no fresh news to sustain the previous gains. There were reports Thursday that production in China and India may be lower than current projections, and that likely limited the decline on Friday.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were higher as domestic demand remains “solid” especially for ethanol production. Higher soybean prices and carryover from Thursdays strong exports report were also factors. Speculative buying on the underlying futures contract contributed to the increase.

Wheat prices followed row crops higher, with some ongoing concerns about possible production issues in Australia and Russia.

Stock markets were higher.

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.