Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 2/2/15

Posted 9 years 299 days ago by

· Feeder cattle mostly $2 to $10 higher; futures higher.
· Fed cattle cash trade N/A; formula trades lower; futures higher; beef prices lower.
· Cotton lower.
· Grains and soybeans lower.
· Crude oil higher; natural gas lower.
· Stock markets lower.

Most Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices $2 to $10 higher per hundredweight. However, Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were $3 to $13 lower over the week with prices following the CME lower. Feeder cattle futures were higher for March, its new front month contract. Despite a volatile month, March feeders are only down $10 from its close last month. The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive on Friday after some light trade on Thursday at $159, though a few head sold in Nebraska at $160. Wholesale boxed beef values were sharply lower again, with Choice Grade down 4.5% from last week to $242.44 and Select Grade down 4.6% to $235.74. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 563,000 head, down 13K from the previous week, and 9K from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 1.6%. Fed cattle futures were higher with traders looking for support in potential growth in beef demand for the spring and early summer.

Attached is USDA’s Texas Cattle Inventory for January 2015. As of January 1, Texas has 11.8 million head, up 6% from last year’s inventory. Also attached is Texas Sheep and Goat Inventories, with sheep inventory down 1% from last year, but goats up 2%.

Little fresh news is available to support the pressure on row crops. Concerns of the strong dollar is still being echoed by traders. Cotton cash prices remained unchanged, but futures dipped lower on Friday. March futures lost 1.5% for the month. Corn and grain sorghum prices were mostly lower, and wheat prices were 4 cents lower in both cash and futures markets. U.S. grain sorghum exports have already surpassed the 2014 annual total just 4 months into the marketing year. Demand for corn remains strong, but ending supplies are still large with traders awaiting 2015 acreage projections.

Stock markets were lower after data from the Department of Commerce showed that U.S. economic growth had slowed in the fourth quarter. GDP for the fourth quarter expanded by only 2.6% while the third and second quarters had seen growth of 5% and 4.6%, respectively.

Crude Oil futures increased 8.3% on Friday to close out January at $48.24 per barrel. However, oil prices decreased 8.4% since the January 2^nd.

Daily Market Summary Data for 2/2/2015

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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.