Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 5/01/15

Posted 9 years 211 days ago by

Feeder cattle mostly steady; futures higher.
Fed cattle cash trade reporting after a week of inactivity; formula trades lower; futures lower; beef prices lower.
Cotton higher.
Grains and soybeans lower.
Crude oil higher; natural gas higher.
Stock markets sharply lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices mostly steady. Feeder cattle futures were $1.02 higher for the sixth-straight session, closing at $217.55 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade reported prices at $157.58 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were lower, with Choice grade losing $1.65 and Select grade $2.01. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 450,000 head, up 15,000 from the previous week’s total, but down 25,000 from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is down 5.3%. Fed cattle futures were $1.30 lower, closing at $159. 50 per cwt. Net export sales for April 17-23 totaling 12,400 metric tons (MT) were down 38 percent from the previous week, with Japan, Mexico, and Hong Kong as the top buyers. Export shipments of 10,800 MT, down seven percent from the previous week, went primarily to Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Cotton cash and futures prices were 0.50 and 0.80 cents higher, respectively. Export cotton sales were 124,200 bales, down 14 percent from the previous week, with increased purchases for Vietnam, China, and South Korea. Shipments of 285,300 bales were down 12 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were China, Vietnam, and Turkey.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower, with corn cash and futures closing $0.02 and $0.01 lower, respectively. Corn export sales were 832,500 MT for the week, down four percent from the previous week, but up 33 percent from the previous 4-week average. Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia had increased purchases. Export shipments of 1,269,300 MT went mainly to Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. The week’s shipments were 22% higher than the previous week’s and 35 percent higher than the average. Soybean futures prices were $0.10 lower. Soybean export sales were 433,400 MT. China, unknown destinations, and Pakistan had increased purchases. Export Shipments of 264,200 MT were up 70 percent from the previous week, but down 45 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Pakistan, and Japan.

Wheat prices closed lower, with cash prices settling at $4.53 per bushel and futures prices closing at $4.90 per bushel. Net export sales for wheat were 397,500 MT, up noticeably from the previous week and the prior 4-week average. Increased sales were reported for Egypt, Japan, and the Philippines. Shipments were 606,600 MT, nine percent higher than the previous week and 47 percent higher than the weekly average. The top destinations were Egypt, the Philippines, and Japan.

Stock markets were sharply lower at close yesterday, reversing much of April’s gains. Crude oil prices were higher, posting a $1.050 gain. The closing price of $59.63 per barrel is a new record high for 2015.

Daily Market Summary Data for 5/01/2015

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