Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Feeder cattle auctions uneven; futures mixed.

Formula trades higher; Beef prices up.

Cotton prices down.

Grains and soybeans up.

Milk futures down.

Crude oil down; Natural gas up.

Stock markets down.

Cattle:

Texas feeder cattle auctions reported mostly steady to high prices with instances of $5 lower to $7 higher. March Feeder cattle futures were up 17 cents, closing at $147.17 per hundredweight (cwt). The Texas fed cattle cash trade was not active today. February Live cattle futures were lower, losing 88 cents to close at $124.82 per cwt. Wholesale boxed beef values were up, with Choice grade gaining 58 cents to close at $209.69 per cwt and Select grade gaining 24 cents to close at $204.37 per cwt. Estimated cattle harvest for the week totaled 234,000, up 35,000 from last week and 6,000 from last year’s total. Year-to-date harvest is up 2.63%. 

Cotton:

Cotton prices were down, closing at 73.75 cents per pound and March cotton futures closing at 77.03 cents per pound.

Corn and Grain Sorghum:

Corn prices were up, with cash prices gaining 3 cents to close at $3.74 per bushel and March corn futures up 3 cents, closing at $3.62 per bushel. Grain sorghum cash prices were up 6 cents, closing at $5.97 per cwt. 

Wheat:

Wheat prices were up with cash prices gaining 17 cents to close at $4.27 per bushel and March wheat futures gaining 17 cents, closing at $4.70 per bushel.

Milk:

Milk prices were down, with January Class III milk futures closing at $13.88 per cwt.

Stock Markets and Crude Oil:

Stock markets were down, all of the three major indexes showing losses. February Crude oil futures were down $1.06 to close at $64.50 per barrel.

Daily Market News Summary Data

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From weekly recap:

AUSTIN – (Jan. 29, 2018) For the week ending Jan. 27, 2018, Texas feeder cattle auctions reported mostly steady to higher prices, with prices ranging from $2 to $15 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas Weekly Direct reported trade activity as active with very good demand and prices steady to $4 higher. Fed cattle cash prices traded $3 higher at $123.00 per cwt. Wholesale Beef values were higher than the previous week, with Choice Grade gaining $1.97 to close at $206.83 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $1.67 cents to end at $201.83 per cwt. For the time period of Jan. 12 – 18, exporters reported net sales of 28,100 metric tons (MT) for 2018. Increases were reported for Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico and Taiwan. Exports of 17,300 MT were reported for 2018. The primary destinations were to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Mexico and Canada.

Cotton prices were down, with cash prices losing 0.75 cents to close at 77.00 cents per pound and March futures falling 2.94 cents to end at 80.48 cents per bushel. Net sales of 67,700 running bales (RB) were reported for 2017/2018, down 75 percent from the previous week and 70 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Thailand. Exports of 16,800 RB were up 29 percent from the previous week and 29 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were to China, India, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Wheat prices up at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 15 cents to close at $4.00 per bushel and March futures also gaining 15 cents to close at $4.43 per bushel. Net sales totaled 427,200 MT for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018 were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. Increases were for Mexico, Japan, the Philippines and Morocco. Exports of 376,800 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week, but up 4 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were to the Philippines, South Korea, Mexico, Iraq and Taiwan.

Corn prices were up at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 4 cents to close at $3.69 per bushel and March futures gaining 4 cents to close at $3.57 per bushel. Net sales of 1,445,900 MT for 2017/2018 were down 22 percent from the previous week, but up 59 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were reported for South Korea, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela. Exports of 599,000 MT were down 3 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Mexico, Japan, Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica.

Grain sorghum cash prices were higher at the close of last week, gaining 9 cents to close at $5.88 per cwt. Net sales of 166,000 MT for 2017/2018 were down 12 percent from the previous week and 11 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China and Japan. Exports of 218,100 MT were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were to China and Mexico.

Milk prices were higher at the close of last week, with January Class III milk futures gaining 3 cents to end the week at $13.91 per cwt.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed abnormally dry conditions for the state, with 85.5 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 6.31 percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions worsened, with 62.45 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up 1.52 percentage points from last week.