Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 03/22/16

Posted 8 years 250 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions reported steady prices; Futures lower.

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

Cotton higher.

Grains and soybeans higher.

Milk futures lower.

Crude oil lower; Natural gas higher.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported steady prices. Feeder cattle futures were $0.82 lower, closing at $161.55 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. Whole sale boxed beef values were lower with choice grade losing $1.89 to close at $227.91 per cwt and select grade losing $2.67to close at $218.00 per cwt. Fed cattle futures were $1.93 lower, closing at $136.42 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 221,000 head down 3,000 from last week and up 7,000 from last year’s total.

Cotton prices were higher with cash prices gaining 0.25 cents to close at 55.62 cents per pound. May futures were higher gaining 0.20 cents to close at 58.37 cents per pound.

Corn prices were steady with corn cash and futures prices both remaining at $3.72 and $3.70 per bushel, respectively. Grain Sorghum cash prices were higher, gaining $0.02 to close at $5.36 per cwt.

Wheat prices were higher with cash and futures prices both gaining $0.02 to close at $4.01 and $4.77 per bushel, respectively.

Milk prices were lower with March Class III Milk futures losing $0.01 to close at $13.82 per cwt.

Stock markets were lower today, after the tragic terrorist attacks in Brussels brought travel related shares down across the globe. Crude oil prices were lower, with May Crude oil futures losing $0.07, to close at $41.45 per barrel.

Daily Market Summary Data 03/22/16

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (March 21, 2016) For the week ending March 18, 2016, Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $12 higher. Texas Weekly Direct reported prices $3 to $5 higher. Wholesale Beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $4.34 to close at $231.81 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade gaining $4.84 to close at $222.33 per cwt. For the time period of March 7-13, the USDA NASS Field Office reported that livestock conditions were favorable throughout the state. Range and pasture continued to progress due to recent rainfall and warm season grasses are greening rapidly. Some producers in Northeast Texas experienced flooding and could not reach their pastures. For the time period of March 4-10, exporters reported that net sales totaled 14,400 metric tons (MT) for 2016, which were up 82 percent from the previous week and 51 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, South Korea and Mexico. Exports totaled 11,600 MT, which were up one percent from the previous week and six percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Cotton prices were lower at the end of last week, with cash prices losing 0.25 cents to close at 54.37 cents per pound and March futures prices losing 1.13 cents to close at 57.16 cents per pound. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that cotton planting preparations continued in the Northern Low Plains. Net upland sales totaled 224,900 round bales (RB) for 2015-2016, which were up 22 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam, Turkey and Bangladesh. Exports totaled 175,800 RB, which were down 30 percent from the previous week and 10 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Turkey, Vietnam and China.

Wheat prices were lower at the end of last week, with cash prices losing $0.19 to close at $3.95 per bushel and March futures prices losing $0.07 to close at $4.70 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that Winter Wheat has progressed well throughout the state. In areas of the Low Plains and South Texas, some producers were treating wheat for rust due to high humidity. Net sales totaled 212,900 MT for delivery in the 2015-2016 marketing year, which were down 36 percent from the previous week and 35 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for China, the Philippines and Indonesia. Exports totaled 416,200 MT, which were unchanged from the previous week but up 21 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were the Philippines, Nigeria and Thailand.

Corn prices were mixed at the end of last week, with cash prices losing $0.02 to close at $3.69 and March futures remaining at $3.67 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that in areas of the Cross Timbers, Southeast Texas and Upper Coast producers made good progress planting corn ahead of the rains. Corn planting in areas of Blacklands and sorghum planting in Upper Coast were interrupted due to rainfall. Net sales totaled 1,227,000 MT for 2015-2016, which were up five percent from the previous week and 17 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Exports totaled 873,900 MT, which were down 17 percent from the previous week, but up four percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Japan and Colombia. Grain sorghum cash prices were down, losing $0.02 to close at $5.30 per cwt.

Milk prices were higher at the close of last week, with Class III milk futures gaining $0.04 to close at $13.83 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a vast improvement in drought conditions for the state, with only 11.42 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity — this is down 19.26 percentage points from last week. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly, with 33.50 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down 1.91 percentage points from last week.