Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Feeder cattle auctions steady; futures up.

Formula trades higher; Beef prices mixed.

Cotton prices mixed.

Grains and soybeans mixed.

Milk futures down.

Crude oil down; Natural gas down.

Stock markets mostly up.

Cattle:

Texas feeder cattle auctions were steady to higher, with instances of steady to $5 higher. January Feeder cattle futures were up $1.65, closing at $147.10 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was not active today. December Fed cattle futures were higher, gaining 98 cents to close at $116.15 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were mixed, with Choice grade losing $1.47 to close at $204.06 per cwt and Select grade gaining 26 cents to close at $185.92 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 236,000, down 3,000 from last week’s total and up 6,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is up 2.61%. 

Cotton:

Cotton prices were steady, closing at 71.75 cents per pound and March cotton futures losing .09 cents to close at 72.91 cents per pound. 

Corn and Grain Sorghum:

Corn prices were down, losing 3 cents to close at $3.53 per bushel. December corn futures were down, losing a penny, closing at $3.36 per bushel. Grain Sorghum cash prices were steady, closing at $5.62 per cwt.

Wheat:

Wheat prices  were up, gaining 7 cents to close at $3.62 per bushel. December wheat futures were down, losing a penny to close at $3.94 per bushel.

Milk:

Milk prices were down, with December Class III milk losing a penny to close at $15.60 per cwt.

Stock Markets and Crude Oil:

Stock markets were mostly up, with two out of the three major indexes showing gains. January Crude oil futures were down 85 cents to close at $57.14 per barrel.

Daily Market News Summary Data

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From weekly recap:

AUSTIN – (Dec. 11, 2017) For the week ending Dec. 9, 2017, Texas feeder cattle auctions were uneven, reporting prices mostly lower, with instances of $2 to $7 lower and $2 to $10 higher. Texas Weekly Direct reported trade activity and demand as light to moderate with prices from $4 to $7 lower. Wholesale Beef values were mixed at the end of the week, with Choice Grade losing $2.60 to close at $205.59 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade gaining 43 cents to end at $185.97 per cwt. Fed cattle cash price live purchases traded 4.00 lower at 117.00 as trade and demand were light to moderate in the Texas panhandle. For the time period of Nov. 24-30 exporters reported net sales of 2,700 metric tons (MT) for 2017, which were down 81 percent from the previous week and 78 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. Exports of 16,400 MT were up 15 percent from the previous week and 6 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Cotton prices were mixed at the close of last week, with cash prices closing steady at 71.75 cents per pound for the second week in a row and December futures losing 1.71 cents to end at 73.72 cents per bushel. Net sales of 186,600 running bales were reported for 2017/2018, down 33 percent from the previous week and 45 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Pakistan, Vietnam and Turkey.

Wheat prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 19 cents to close at $3.60 per bushel and December futures losing 20 cents to close at $4.01 per bushel. Net sales totaled 321,400 MT for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018, which were up 74 percent from the previous week, but down 22 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for Japan, Taiwan and Mexico. Exports of 396,400 MT were up 17 percent from the previous week and 41 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were the Taiwan, South Korea and Mexico.

Corn prices were lower at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 2 cents to close at $3.60 per bushel and December futures losing 5 cents to close at $3.40 per bushel. Net sales of 876,400 MT for 2017/2018 were up 46 percent from the previous week, but down 30 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were reported for Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Exports of 592,300 MT were primarily to Mexico, Colombia and Japan.

Grain sorghum cash prices remained steady at the close of last week, closing at $5.69 per cwt. Net sales of 406,600 MT for 2017/2018 – a marketing-year high – were up 24 percent from the previous week and 49 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China. Exports of 257,600 MT – a marketing-year high – were up 19 percent from the previous week and up noticeably from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China and Mexico.

Milk prices were higher at the close of last week, with December Class III milk futures gaining 28 cents to end the week at $15.60 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed slightly moderate drought conditions for the state, with 72.4 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 1.13 percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions worsened, with 47.62 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up 4.96 percentage points from last week.