Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 07/24/17

Posted 7 years 126 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions higher; Futures lower.

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

Cotton prices lower.

Grains and soybeans lower.

Milk futures lower.

Crude oil higher; Natural gas lower.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $4 higher. August Feeder cattle futures were $4.50 lower, closing at $148.45 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. August Fed cattle futures were $2.55 lower, closing at $113.87 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were higher, with Choice grade gaining 55 cents to close at $207.46 per cwt and Select grade gaining $3.09 to close at $197.89 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 112,000 down 2,000 from both last week and from a year ago. Year-to-date harvest is up 1.9%.

Cotton prices were lower with cash prices losing 0.25 cents to close at 66.75 cents per pound and October futures losing 0.14 cents to close at 69.00 cents per pound.

Corn prices were lower with cash prices losing 2 cents to close at $3.77 per bushel and September futures losing 3 cents to close at $3.77 per bushel, as well. Grain Sorghum cash prices were 6 cents lower, closing at $5.64 per bushel.

Wheat prices were lower with cash prices losing 11 cents to close at $4.19 per bushel and September futures losing 8 cents to close at $4.88 per bushel.

Milk prices were lower with July Class III losing 20 cents to close at $16.10 per cwt.

Stock markets were lower today, as most major U.S. indexes fell while investors are waiting the release of more corporate earnings reports this week. Not all major indexes were in the red today though, the NASDAQ ended the day close to a record high behind increases in bio-technology shares. September Crude oil futures were 57 cents higher, closing at $46.34 per barrel. Crude oil prices were higher today even though members of OPEC have begun to fight internally about their production cutting agreement. Tension is high in OPEC as the group’s efforts to cut global production to stabilize prices has, for the most part, failed.

Daily Market News Summary Data 07/24/17

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (July 24, 2017) For the week ending July 21, 2017, Texas feeder cattle auctions reported prices steady to $4 higher. Texas Weekly Direct reported prices $2 to $4 higher. Wholesale Beef values were lower at the end of the week, with Choice Grade losing $2.14 to end at $206.91 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade losing $1.01 to end at $194.80 per cwt. For the time period of July 10-16, the USDA NASS Field Office reported that livestock was in good condition throughout the state. Horn flies continued to be an issue in Northeast Texas. Supplemental feeding continued in the Lower Valley. Range and pasture conditions remained fair to good across the state. The lack of rain and hot weather in the Panhandle were causing a decline in the pastures conditions. For the time period of July 7-13, exporters reported net sales totaling 12,400 metric tons (MT), which were down one percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported primarily for Japan, Mexico and South Korea. Exports totaled 14,800 MT and were up 26 percent from the previous week and seven percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Mexico.

Cotton prices were uneven at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 0.25 cents to end at 67.00 cents per pound and October futures gaining 0.57 cents to end at 69.14 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported early cotton fields in the High Plains were blooming. Some cotton fields in the Plains were behind in terms of growth. Producers in the Blacklands took advantage of the weather to do field work. Cotton was being heavily irrigated in areas of Southeast Texas. Cotton was filling bolls and progressing toward maturity in the Lower Valley and South Texas. Net upland sales totaled 27,200 running bales (RB), which up noticeably from the previous week but down 83 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported primarily for Vietnam, Turkey and China. Exports totaled 280,500 RB and were up 44 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Vietnam, Turkey and Mexico.

Wheat prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices losing three cents to close at $4.30 per bushel and September futures losing 11 cents to end at $4.96 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that producers were plowing wheat residue in areas of the Northern High Plains. Net sales totaled 669,500 MT and were up 87 percent from the previous week and 52 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were for the Philippines, South Korea and Mexico. Exports totaled 550,200 MT, which were up 16 percent from the previous week but down 11 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, the Philippines and Japan.

Corn prices were uneven at the close of last week, with cash prices losing four cents to close at $3.79 per bushel and September corn futures gaining a nickel to close at $3.80 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that corn was in the tassel stage in the Northern High Plains. Corn harvest was rapidly approaching in the Cross Timbers, Balcklands, South Central and South Texas. Net sales totaled 466,500 MT and were up noticeably from the previous week and 63 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Mexico and Peru. Exports totaled 1,041,900 MT, which were up 18 percent from the previous week but down one percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico, Japan and Peru.

Grain sorghum cash prices were lower at the close of last week, losing six cents to end at $5.70 per cwt. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that the sorghum harvest was underway in the Blacklands and continued in the Coastal Bend, Upper Coast, South Texas and the Lower Valley. Net sales totaled 66,000 MT and were reported for unknown destinations. Exports totaled 59,200 MT and were down 43 percent from the previous week and eight percent from the prior four-week average. The destinations were China and Mexico.

Milk prices were lower at the close of last week, with August Class III milk futures losing 57 cents to end at $16.10 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed worsening drought conditions for the state, with 25.58 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 1.70 percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions worsened as well, with 29.33 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up 6.23 percentage points from last week.