Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 2/12/15

Posted 9 years 289 days ago by

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

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices strong, ranging from $3 to $20 higher per hundredweight. Feeder cattle futures were lower in response to trader’s concerns of the strengthening dollar and port strikes potentially limiting foreign demand and exports. The Texas fed cattle cash market had no reportable trade for Wednesday. Wholesale boxed beef values were higher, but estimated cattle harvest for yesterday was not available. Fed cattle futures were slightly lower due to long liquidation and profit taking.

Cotton cash and futures prices were down about a half cent in both markets with expectations that export sales will be lower in today’s FAS’s weekly report. In other news, China has changed from a price support to a direct payment subsidy program for growers, leaving effective prices “widely diverged” for both farmers and textile mills. 2014/2015 production estimates for China remained at 30 million bales in Tuesday’s WASDE report.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were slightly lower, but soybeans closed with a small gain with support from strong export sales. Corn trade was light, and the weekly ethanol report showed a slight increase in production. USDA estimated a lower soybean production in Brazil, but Argentina’s production total was slightly raised.

Wheat prices were higher yesterday with traders taking advantage of Tuesday’s bearish prices. However, traders are still weary of the reinforced large U.S. and world ending stocks in Tuesday’s WASDE report.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed that drought conditions are slightly worse for the state with almost 57% of the state still in some stage of drought intensity, up 0.4% from last week. Almost 25% of the state remains in severe, extreme, or exceptional drought, up almost two percent points from last week and one percent point from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions also worsened, with 52.49% of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up almost three percent points from last week.

Stock markets were near unchanged at the end of yesterday’s session following a volatile trading day. With many investors believing that Greece is unlikely to leave the EU, they are waiting for an outcome before making any investment decisions. Crude oil futures dropped below $50 again, down 2.4%, to $48.84 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data for 2/12/2015

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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.