Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 03/15/16

Posted 8 years 257 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $8 higher; Futures higher.

Fed cattle cash trade inactive; Formula trades higher; Futures higher; Beef prices higher.

Cotton futures lower.

Grains and soybeans mixed.

Milk futures steady.

Crude oil lower; Natural gas higher.

Stock markets mixed.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $8 higher. Feeder cattle futures were $1.92 higher, closing at $163.97 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. Whole sale boxed beef values were higher with choice grade gaining $3.54 to close at $231.01 per cwt and select grade gaining $4.09 to close at $221.58 per cwt. Fed cattle futures were $1.42 higher, closing at $140.72 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 223,000 head up 11,000 from last week and 5,000 from last year’s total.

Cotton May futures were lower, losing 0.05 cents to close at 58.24 cents per pound.

Corn prices were steady with cash prices remaining at $3.71 per bushel; May corn futures remained $3.69 per bushel.

Wheat prices were steady with cash prices remaining at $4.14 per bushel; May wheat futures were steady as well to remain at $4.89 per bushel.

Milk prices were steady with Class III Milk futures remaining at $13.79 per cwt.

Stock markets were mixed today, as investors await news from a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve officials. Crude oil prices were lower, losing $0.84 to close at $36.34 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data 03/15/16

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (March 14, 2016) For the week ending March 11, 2016, Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $10 higher, with one instance of $5 to $8 lower. Wholesale Beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $3.82 to close at $225.24 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade gaining $0.11 to close at $213.85 per cwt. For the time period of Feb. 29 – March 6, the USDA NASS Field Office reported that livestock in most areas of the state remained in good condition, as supplemental feeding continued in areas of the Cross Timbers, Northern Low Plains and South Texas. Pastures in areas of the Blacklands and Northeast Texas continued to improve due to recent rainfall. However, there were still signs of stress due to dry conditions in areas of the Trans-Pecos and South Central Texas.

Cotton prices were lower at the end of last week, with cash prices losing 0.50 cents to close at 54.62 cents per pound and March futures prices losing 2.09 cents to close at 56.83 cents per pound. For the time period of Feb. 26 – March 3, 2016, exporters reported that net upland sales totaled 185,100 round bales (RB) for 2015-2016, which were up seven percent from the previous week but down 10 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam, Brazil and Turkey. Exports totaled 252,100 (RB) — a marketing-year high — and were up 28 percent from the previous week and 42 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Turkey, Vietnam and Mexico.

Wheat prices were higher at the end of last week, with cash prices gaining $0.05 to close at $4.00 per bushel and March futures prices gaining $0.13 to close at $4.73 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that Winter Wheat in areas of the Panhandle, the Cross Timbers and Blacklands continued to progress and irrigated fields benefited from the additional moisture. Overall, small grain conditions were rated mostly fair to good. Net sales totaled 330,600 metric tons (MT) for delivery in 2015-2016 marketing year, which were down four percent from the previous week but up six percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Taiwan and Mexico. Exports totaled 417,500 MT, which were up eight percent from the previous week and 25 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan.

Corn prices were higher at the end of last week, with cash prices gaining $0.01 to close at $3.60 and March futures prices gaining $0.08 to close at $3.63 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that corn planting began in areas of the Blacklands, while planting in other areas was delayed due to wet topsoil. In areas of the Upper Coast and Lower Valley, sorghum planting continued. Net sales totaled 1,172,300 MT for 2015-2016 and were up seven percent from the previous week and 37 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico, Japan and Colombia. Exports totaled 1,052,500 MT — a marketing-year high — and were up 33 percent from the previous week and 48 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, Mexico and Colombia. Grain sorghum prices were steady at $5.16 per cwt.

Milk prices were lower at the close of last week, with Class III milk futures losing $0.07 to close at $13.80 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a slight worsening in drought conditions for the state, with 30.68 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity; this is up six percentage points from last week. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions worsened slightly as well, with 35.41 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up 3.43 percentage points from last week.