Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 9/22/15

Posted 9 years 68 days ago by

Feeder cattle steady to $10 lower; futures higher.

Fed cattle cash trade inactive; formula trades higher; futures lower; beef prices lower.

Cotton lower.

Grains and soybeans lower.

Crude oil lower; natural gas higher.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions quoted prices steady to $10 lower. Feeder cattle futures settled $1.00 higher to close at $195.70 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive yesterday. Wholesale boxed beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $2.77 to settle at $222.77 per cwt and Select Grade losing $3.36 at $216.79 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 226,000 head, up 1,000 from last week’s total, but down 3,000 from this time last year. Year-to-date harvest is down 1.3%. Fed cattle futures lost $0.78 to settle at $136.22 per cwt.

Cotton prices were lower, with cash prices losing 0.50 cents to settle at 58.12 cents per pound, and futures prices losing 1.02 cents to settle at 58.73 cents per pound. For the reporting period of September 14-20, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that the Cotton and soybean harvest experienced some delays in areas of the Lower Valley and South Texas due to wet field conditions. Cotton harvest is currently at 13 percent, 3 points behind previous year.

Corn and grain sorghum prices were lower, with corn cash prices losing $0.07 and futures prices losing $0.04, settling at $3.90 per bushel and $3.81 per bushel, respectively. Grain sorghum cash prices lost $0.08 to close at $5.98 per cwt. Soybean futures prices were $0.12 lower, closing at $8.62 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that Corn and sorghum continued to mature with harvest underway in areas of the High Plains and the Blacklands. Corn harvest is currently at 61 percent, 5 points behind previous year and 3 points behind normal.

Wheat cash and futures prices both lost $0.03 to settle at $4.06 per bushel and $4.88 per bushel, respectively. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that Wheat seeding continued to progress, while some producers in areas of the High and Low Plains, the Cross Timbers, and South Texas waited for soil moisture to improve. Seeding preparation for wheat and oats continued in other areas of the state.

Stock markets closed lower yesterday following the trend of commodities prices. Crude oil prices dropped $0.85 to close at $45.83 per barrel, as the market continues to struggle with the global glut of crude oil.

Daily Market Summary Data 9/22/15

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (Sept. 21, 2015) For the week ending Sept. 19, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices $2 to $11 lower, with instances of $2 to $5 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $8.84 to close at $226.30 per cwt and Select Grade losing $6.43 to close at $219.26 per cwt. Net export sales for Sept. 4-10 totaled 12,100 metric tons (MT), which is up 15 percent from the previous week and eight percent from the previous four-week average. Increased purchases were reported for Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Export shipments of 8,800 MT were down six percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior four-week average, and shipments went primarily to Japan, South Korea and Mexico.

Cotton cash prices were 2.01 cents lower on the week and closed at 58.37 cents per pound. October futures prices settled at 59.85 cents per pound, 3.66 cents lower than last week. For the reporting period of Sept. 7-13, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated cotton harvest has progressed in southern parts of the state, although some delays were experienced in the Coastal Bend and Upper Coast regions due to heavy rains. Eight percent of the state’s cotton has been harvested, seven points behind last year and four points behind normal. Producers in the Northern High Plains began curtailing irrigation in anticipation of harvest. Export cotton sales of 96,600 bales were up 16 percent from the previous week and 46 percent from the prior four-week average with increased purchases reported for Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey. Exports of 59,400 bales were up 57 percent from the previous week and 53 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, South Korea and Thailand.

Wheat cash prices remained unchanged at the end of the week staying at $4.01 per bushel. Wheat futures prices were high and gained $0.11 to close at $4.82 per bushel. USDA NASS Texas field office reported that wheat seeding was underway in the Northern High Plains. Net export sales for wheat were 377,500 MT, up 30 percent from the previous week and seven percent from the prior four-week average. The top destinations were the Philippines, Taiwan and Canada.

Corn cash and futures prices were down last week. Cash prices lost $0.04 to close at $3.96 per bushel, and futures prices lost $0.02 to close at $3.77 per bushel. USDA NASS Texas field office reported that the corn and soybean harvest continued in areas of the Blacklands, South Central and South Texas. That brings the corn harvest to 53 percent, which is six points behind last year and five points behind normal. Corn export sales were 533,000 MT for the week, with Japan, Peru and Taiwan seeing increased purchases. Export shipments of 542,600 MT were up eight percent from the previous week and nine percent from the prior four-week average. Shipments primarily went to Brazil, the Philippines and Nigeria.

This week’s Drought Monitor for Texas showed worsening drought conditions for the state, with 51.23 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. That is up nearly four percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions also worsened, with 51.55 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.