Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 4/1/15

Posted 9 years 241 days ago by

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

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices steady, with one location $3 lower. Feeder cattle futures were lower, with the market showing difficulty maintaining gains. The Texas fed cattle cash trade remained inactive on Tuesday. Wholesale boxed beef values were higher with Choice grade up to $254.13 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select grade to $248.64 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest to date this week totaled 218,000 head, up 6,000 from last week, but down 17,000 from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 7.2%. Fed cattle futures were lower, feeling pressure from falling feeder cattle prices.

Cotton prices were higher on Tuesday with cash gaining 0.50 cents and futures gaining 0.58 cents to settle at 60.38 cents per pound and 63.10 cents per pound, respectively. Producers in the U.S. are only expected to plant 87% of last year’s crop acreage.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower with corn cash and futures prices each almost $0.20 lower. USDA’s estimated corn acreage increased, pushing corn prices lower. Soybean prices were $0.05 higher following the release of decreases in USDA’s soybean planting estimates.

Wheat prices were lower as dollar strength increased sharply. The price losses occurred in spite of an acreage report indicating less wheat was planted this year than last.

Stock markets were lower yesterday, posting a loss for the first quarter. Crude oil prices fell $1.080 to settle at $47.60 per barrel, as an Iranian nuclear deal becomes more likely.

Daily Market Summary Data for 4/1/2015

If you are interested in receiving this daily report, please subscribe here.