Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 12/8/15

Posted 8 years 356 days ago by

Fed cattle cash trade inactive; futures higher; beef prices higher.

Cotton futures lower.

Grains and soybeans lower.

Crude oil lower; natural gas higher.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices $5 to $10 lower. Feeder cattle futures were $2.60 lower, closing at $153.85 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. Whole sale boxed beef values were higher with choice grade gaining $1.27 closing at $204.14 per cwt; select grade gained $0.37 closing at $190.73 per cwt. Fed cattle futures were $0.63 higher, closing at $122.25 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 224,000 head, up 6,000 from last week and down 1,000 from last year’s total.

Cotton prices were mixed with cash prices remaining at 62.87 cents per pound; December futures prices lost 0.13 cents to close at 62.27 cents per pound.

Corn prices were steady, with cash prices remaining at $3.77 per bushel; December corn futures gained a penny to close at $3.70 per bushel. Grain Sorghum cash prices were steady, remaining at $5.78 per cwt.

Wheat prices were lower with cash prices losing $0.01 to close at $3.84 per bushel; futures prices lost $0.03 to close at $4.59 per bushel.

Stock markets were lower today, dragged down by lower commodity and energy prices. Crude oil prices were lower, losing $0.14 closing at $37.51 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data 12/8/15

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (Dec. 7, 2015) For the week ending Dec. 5, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices $1 to $12 lower. However, one location did report prices $1 to $10 higher. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $3.05 to close at $202.60 per cwt and Select Grade losing $3.37 to close at $191.49 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 542,000 head, which was up 13,000 from last week but down 2,000 from last year.

Cotton cash prices were higher at the end of the week, gaining 1.99 cents to close at 62.37 cents per pound. December futures prices were higher, gaining 1.93 cents to close at 63.23 cents per pound. For the time period of Nov. 23 - 29, the USDA NASS Field Office reported that cotton harvest continued in areas of the Plains, as producers worked to get cotton harvested ahead of the Thanksgiving storms. However, harvesting delays were experienced in areas of the Southern Low Plains and Trans-Pecos. Cotton harvest is currently at 75 percent, which is 17 points above the previous year and five points behind normal. Net upland sales totaled 287,100 round bales (RB) for 2015-2016, which was a marketing-year high, and up seven percent from the previous week and 56 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam, Turkey and Bangladesh. Exports totaled 80,600 RB, which was down 11 percent from the previous week and 15 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Vietnam and Turkey.

Wheat prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining $0.17 to close at $3.91 per bushel. December futures prices gained $0.07 to close at $4.64 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that winter wheat and oats progressed well in areas of South Central and South Texas, with some seeding delays experienced in areas of the Upper Coast due to recent rainfall. Net sales totaled 392,200 metric tons (MT) for delivery in 2015-2016, which was up 29 percent from the previous week and 17 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for China, South Korea and Mexico. Exports of 399,000 MT were up 54 percent from the previous week and 56 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were China, South Korea and the Philippines.

Corn prices were higher at the close of last week. Corn cash prices gained $0.10 to close at $3.85 per bushel, and December futures prices gained $0.11 to close at $3.76 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that most of the 2015 Texas corn and sorghum crop has been harvested. Corn harvest is currently at 96 percent. This is four points behind the previous year and four points behind normal. Net sales totaled 499,400 MT for 2015-2016, which was down 76 percent from the previous week and 50 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico, Japan and Guatemala. Exports of 373,800 MT were down 30 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, Mexico and Peru.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed an improvement in drought conditions for the state, with only 3.6 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions also improved, with nearly 37 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.