Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 12/22/15

Posted 8 years 341 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $5 lower; futures higher.

Fed cattle cash trade active; futures higher; beef prices lower.

Cotton lower.

Grains and soybeans lower.

Crude oil higher; natural gas higher.

Stock markets higher.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $5 lower. Feeder cattle futures were $9.90 higher, closing at $158.65 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was active today, closing at $122.00 per cwt. Whole sale boxed beef values were lower with choice grade losing $2.61 to close at $191.53 per cwt; select grade lost $2.70 to close at $183.65 per cwt. Fed cattle futures were $5.45 higher, closing at $125.60 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 227,000 head, up 1,000 from last week and down 4,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is down 1.7%.

Cotton prices were lower with cash prices losing 1.00 cents to close at 61.12 cents per pound; March futures prices were down 0.53 cents to close at 63.16 cents per pound.

Corn prices were lower with cash and futures prices both losing $0.09 to close at $3.70 and $3.66 per bushel, respectively.

Wheat prices were lower with cash and futures prices both losing $0.11 to close at $3.81 and $4.71 per bushel, respectively.

Stock markets were higher today, rising behind oil gains in oil prices. Crude oil prices were higher, gaining $1.91 to close at $36.14 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data 12/22/15

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (Dec. 21, 2015) For the week ending Dec. 19, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices $2 to $16 lower. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $4.64 to close at $194.14 per cwt and Select Grade losing $0.38 to close at $186.35 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 560,000 head, which was up 18,000 from last week and 6,000 from last year. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 562,000 head, up 2,000 from last week and 17,000 from last year’s total. Beef net sales totaled 6,000 metric tons (MT) for 2015, which was down 20 percent from the previous week and 31 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Mexico and Canada. Exports totaled 9,000 MT and were down 30 percent from the previous week and 26 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were higher at the end of the week, with cash prices gaining 0.25 cents to close at 62.12 cents per pound. March futures prices were higher, gaining 0.31 cents to close at 63.69 cents per pound. Net upland sales totaled 99,500 round bales (RB) for 2015-2016 and were up 27 percent from the previous week but down 52 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam, China and Turkey. Exports totaled 91,900 RB, which were down 18 percent from the previous week but up nine percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam.

Wheat prices were mixed at the close of last week, with cash prices losing $0.05 to close at $3.92 per bushel. March futures prices gained $0.09 to close at $4.82 per bushel. Net sales totaled 320,200 MT for delivery in the 2015-2016 marketing year and were up 42 percent from the previous week but down 22 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Taiwan, Japan and Nigeria. Exports totaled 332,300 MT and were up 55 percent from the previous week and nine percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Nigeria, Brazil and Israel.

Corn prices were lower at the close of last week. Corn cash prices lost $0.04 to close at $3.79 per bushel, and March futures prices lost $0.07 to close at $3.75 per bushel. Net sales totaled 579,400 MT for 2015-2016 and were down 44 percent from the previous week and 47 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Colombia, Japan and South Korea. Exports totaled 495,000 MT, which were up two percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Japan and Colombia.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed 3.18 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. None of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly, with 34.58 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.