Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 2/5/15

Posted 9 years 296 days ago by

· Feeder cattle mixed; futures lower.
· Fed cattle cash trade slightly higher; formula trades lower; futures lower; beef prices mixed.
· Cotton lower.
· Grains and soybeans lower.
· Crude oil lower; natural gas lower.
· Stock markets mostly lower.

Texas feeder cattle auction prices were mixed around the state, ranging from $5 lower to $5 higher per hundredweight. Feeder cattle futures were lower little fundamental support to push prices higher after USDA’s cattle inventory report last Friday. The fed cattle cash trade for Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico was slightly higher at $160/cwt on 57 head. Wholesale boxed beef values were mixed for the third day in a row, but Wednesday’s prices were lower for Choice and higher for Select. Estimated cattle harvest for the first half of week totaled 317,000 head, down 18K from this time last week, and 25K from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 7.3%. Fed cattle futures were lower as well after strong losses in both the feeder and lean hog futures.

Cotton cash and futures prices were lower on Wednesday with traders awaiting the weekly export report that has been at marketing highs for the last three weeks. International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) released estimates that world cotton acreage for the 2015-2016 season will fall 6% because of current low prices. With this, cotton consumption is expected to surpass production for the first time in five seasons, though only slightly decreasing the large world ending stocks.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower yesterday, giving back some of the previous day’s gains and allowing for some profit taking by traders. Eyes are still on weather in Argentina and Brazil, though demand is remaining strong. Wheat prices dipped as well following other row crops. Egypt bought 300,000 tons of wheat from France and Romania.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed some more improvement in drought conditions for the state with about 56% of the state still in some stage of drought intensity, down 3.6% from last week. Less than 23% of the state remains in severe, extreme, or exceptional drought, down more than one point from last week but down almost 20% from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions improved with less than 50% of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down two percent points from last week.

Stock markets were mostly lower after the European Central Bank announced that they would no longer accept Greek public securities as collateral for regular loans. Only the DJIA closed with a slight gain after abruptly dropping following the news of the ECB’s increased pressure on Greece.

Daily Market Summary Data for 2/5/2015

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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.