Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary 10/30/17

Posted 7 years 28 days ago by

Feeder cattle auctions higher; Futures higher.

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

Cotton prices higher.

Grains and soybeans uneven.

Milk futures higher.

Crude oil higher; Natural gas higher.

Stock markets lower.

Texas feeder cattle auctions were higher reporting prices $4 to $6 higher. November Feeder cattle futures were $1.85 higher, closing at $158.32 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was inactive today. December Fed cattle futures were $2.58 higher, closing at $123.40 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were higher, with Choice grade gaining 2 cents to close at $203.32 per cwt and Select grade gaining $1.16 to close at $193.64 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 116,000 up 1,000 last week’s total and 2,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is up 1.8%.

Cotton prices were higher with cash prices gaining 0.50 cents to close at 68.50 cents per pound and December cotton futures gaining 0.44 cents to close at 68.64 cents per pound.

Corn prices were uneven with cash prices holding steady to remain at $3.51 per bushel and December futures gaining 2 cents to close at $3.49 per bushel. Grain Sorghum cash prices were steady as well to remain at $5.41 per cwt.

Wheat prices were lower with cash prices and December futures both losing 3 cents to close at $3.57 per bushel and $4.22 per bushel, respectively.

Milk prices were higher with November Class III milk gaining 12 cents to close at $16.54 per cwt.

Stock markets closed lower today reversing last week’s gains, as shares of major retailers and health-care companies took a big hit, dragging down Major U.S. Indexes to start the week. November Crude oil futures were 25 cents higher, to close at $54.15 per barrel. Crude oil prices closed at their highest level in 8-months behind comments from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince that reiterated their commitment to extending OPEC’s production cuts.

Daily Market News Summary Data 10/30/17

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From Weekly Recap:

AUSTIN – (Oct. 30, 2017) For the week ending Oct. 27, 2017, Texas feeder cattle auctions were uneven, reporting prices mostly steady to $8 higher with instances of steady to $4 lower. Texas Weekly Direct reported prices steady to $2 lower with instances of $1 to $2 higher. Wholesale Beef values were higher at the end of the week, with Choice Grade gaining $4.05 to close at $203.30 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade gaining $1.43 to end at $192.48 per cwt. For the time period of Oct. 16-22, the USDA NASS Field Office reported that cattle and livestock condition remained mostly good to fair across the state. However, producers were using supplemental feeding in the Cross Timbers due to inadequate pasture. Some producers reported emerging respiratory problems in cattle. Horn flies continued being an issue in areas of Northeast Texas. Pasture and range condition did not change much from the previous week, remaining mostly fair to good across the state. For the time period of October 13-19, U.S. exporters reported that net sales of beef totaled 6,900 metric tons (MT) for 2017, which were up 25 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported primarily for South Korea, Hong Kong and Mexico. Exports totaled 14,200 MT and were down 11 percent from the previous week and 12 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Cotton prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices holding steady at 68.00 cents per pound and December futures losing 1.52 cents to end at 68.20 cents per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that cotton harvest was underway in the Plains, Blacklands, Trans-Pecos and Edwards Plateau. Net sales totaled 289,100 running bales (RB) for 2017-2018 — a marketing-year high — and were up 14 percent from the previous week and 52 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Turkey, Vietnam and Indonesia. Exports totaled 94,700 RB, which were up 10 percent from the previous week but down 16 percent from the prior four-week average. Exports were reported primarily to Vietnam, Mexico and Taiwan.

Wheat prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 8 cents to close at $3.60 per bushel and December futures losing 9 cents to close at $4.25 per bushel. Net sales totaled 360,600 MT, which were down 41 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were for Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Exports totaled 119,700 MT and were down 62 percent from the previous week and 73 percent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were the Philippines, Panama and Brazil.

Corn prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 3 cents to close at $3.51 per bushel and December futures losing 4 cents to close at $3.47 per bushel. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that the corn harvests were in full swing in the Northern High Plains. Net sales totaled 1,288,300 MT and were up 3 percent from the previous week and 32 percent from the prior four-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Mexico and South Korea. Exports totaled 604,400 MT and were primarily to Mexico, Peru and Japan.

Grain sorghum cash prices were lower at the close of the week, losing a nickel to end at $5.41 per cwt. The USDA NASS Field Office reported that the sorghum harvests were in full swing in the Northern High Plains. Net sales totaled 3,400 MT and resulted as increases primarily for China. Exports totaled 72,000 MT and were reported for China and Mexico.

Milk prices were higher at the close of last week, with November Class III milk futures gaining 44 cents to end the week at $16.42 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed a slight improvement in drought conditions for the state, with 19.11 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, down 1.26 percentage points from three months ago. On the national level, drought conditions worsened slightly, with nearly 40.12 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.