Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Feeder cattle auctions steady to high; futures mixed.

Formula trades lower; Beef prices up.

Cotton prices mixed.

Grains and soybeans up.

Milk futures down.

Crude oil up; Natural gas up.

Stock markets up.

Cattle:

Texas feeder cattle auctions were mostly steady to high, with one instance of slightly low. January Feeder cattle futures were down 98 cents, closing at $145.47 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was not active today. February Live cattle futures were higher, gaining 45 cents to close at $117.67 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were up, with Choice grade gaining 29 cents to close at $210.49 per cwt and Select grade gaining 32 cents to close at $203.69 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 236,000, up 6,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is up 2.61%. 

Cotton:

Cotton prices were mixed, closing at 74.75 cents per pound and March cotton futures gaining .21 cents to close at 78.35 cents per pound.

Corn and Grain Sorghum:

Corn prices were up, gaining 2 cents to close at $3.61 per bushel. March corn futures were up 2 cents, closing at $3.49 per bushel. Grain sorghum was up 2 cents to close at $5.71 per cwt.

Wheat:

Wheat was up, gaining 3 cents to close at $3.91 per bushel. March wheat futures gained 6 cents, closing at $4.39 per bushel.

Milk:

Milk prices were down a nickel, with January Class III milk futures closing at $13.80 per cwt.

Stock Markets and Crude Oil:

Stock markets were up, with all three major indexes showing gains. February Crude oil futures were up $1.23 to close at $62.96 per barrel.

Daily Market News Summary Data

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From weekly recap:

AUSTIN – (Jan. 8, 2018) For the week ending Jan. 6, 2017, most Texas feeder cattle auctions were closed due to the holidays. However, later in the week several auctions opened and reported prices steady to $8 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas Weekly Direct reported trade activity and demand as moderate with prices from steady to $4 lower. Fed cattle cash prices traded $1 to $1.50 lower from $121.50 - $122.00 per cwt. Wholesale Beef values were higher than the previous week, with Choice Grade gaining $9.95 to close at $209.51 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $14.44 to end at $202.32 per cwt. For the time period of Dec. 22-28 exporters reported net sales of 2,400 metric tons (MT) for 2017, which were down 73 percent from the previous week and 63 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Canada, Hong Kong, Japan and Mexico. Exports of 12,500 MT were down 23 percent from the previous week and 24 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Cotton prices were mixed, with cash prices losing .25 cents to close at 74.75 cents per pound and March futures gaining .14 cents to end at 78.01 cents per bushel. Net sales of 193,900 running bales (RB) were reported for 2017/2018, up 19 percent from the previous week, but down 17 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for India, Vietnam and Turkey.  Exports of 10,400 RB were down 49 percent from the previous week and 43 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were China, India and Vietnam.

Wheat prices were up at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 15 cents to close at $3.90 per bushel and March futures gaining 16 cents to close at $4.38 per bushel. Net sales totaled 131,000 MT for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018 – a marketing year low – were down 72 percent from the previous week and 76 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for the Philippines, Mexico and Nigeria. Exports of 228,100 MT were down 56 percent from the previous week and 49 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were Mexico, Thailand and Taiwan.

Corn prices were down at the close of last week, with cash prices losing 7 cents to close at $3.60 per bushel and March futures losing 1 cent to close at $3.51 per bushel. Net sales of 101,200 MT for 2017/2018 – a marketing year low – were down 92 percent from the previous week and 91 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were reported for South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico. Exports of 657,600 MT were up 26 percent from the previous week and 5 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Mexico, Japan and South Korea.

Grain sorghum cash prices were higher at the close of last week, gaining 1 cent to close at $5.76 per cwt. Exports of 75,400 MT were down 38 percent from the previous week and 59 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations was primarily for China.

Milk prices were lower at the close of last week, with January Class III milk futures closing to end the week at $13.94 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed slightly moderate drought conditions for the state, with 66.63 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 3.79 percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions worsened, with 55.54 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up .85 percentage points from last week.