Texas Daily Ag Market Summary 3/9/15

Posted 9 years 265 days ago by

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

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices steady to $4 higher. Feeder cattle futures were higher supported by increased commercial buying interest. The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive on Friday. Wholesale boxed beef values were lower, with Choice grade down 72 cents to $248.48 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select grade down $2.19 to $246.58 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 537,000 head, up 14K from the previous week, but down 10K from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 1.8%. Fed cattle futures were slightly higher as technical trading pushed prices upward in the midst of weak fundamental trading.

Cotton cash and futures prices were lower despite a marketing-year high of 360,800 bales for export shipments. According to the Census Bureau, all cotton exports in January were 9.85% higher than the previous month, but down 20.5% compared to a year ago. The total number of bales exported came out to 1.126 million 480-pound bales. China maintained its position as top U.S. cotton export customer.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower after the U.S. Labor Department published its February jobs report. The better-than-expected numbers sharply strengthened the dollar index, pressuring commodity prices. Soybeans were steady as the aforementioned jobs report removed any expectations of gains.

Wheat prices were higher after the previous day’s new contract low.

Stock markets closed lower after a selloff on Friday. The Labor Department reported that February was the 12^thstraight month that the U.S. economy added more than 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, a low not seen since May 2008. Crude oil futures closed $1.150 lower at $50.76 per barrel as prices have stabilized over the past few weeks. Investors acknowledge the possibility of an upcoming ebb in global oil surplus.

Daily Market Summary Data for 3/9/2015

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