TDA Market Recap Jan. 26, 2015 (1/27/2015)

AUSTIN – (Jan. 26, 2015) For the week ending Jan. 24, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices $2 to $15 lower per hundredweight (cwt). Texas direct feeder cattle sales were down $4 to $12, with prices continuing to follow futures markets lower. Fed cattle weekly cash sales were lower at $160 per cwt. Wholesale beef values were lower than last week, down 2.6 percent to $253.74 for Choice Grade beef cut-out and down 1.4 percent to $247.23 for Select Grade. Weekly net export sales for Jan. 9-15 totaled 9,600 metric tons (MT), down 14 percent from a week ago, and export shipments of 11,000 MT were 13 percent lower in comparison to last week.

Cotton prices for West Texas were 3.1 percent lower, and futures prices were 3.3 percent lower. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that the state’s cotton crop is 96 percent harvested, up about two percent points from last year, but three percent points behind the average. Export cotton sales reached another marketing-year high, up seven percent from last week and 89 percent from the prior four-week average. Shipments were down one percent from last week’s marketing-year high, but still up 12 percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices in Texas were down 12 cents to $5.27 per bushel, and futures prices experienced a 2.3 percent decrease to settle at $5.64. The Texas winter wheat crop is 95 percent emerged, up two points from last year and one point from the average. Forty-three percent of the wheat crop is in excellent or good condition. Net export sales for wheat were up 61 percent from last week, and 69 percent from the prior four-week average. Shipments were 24 percent higher than the previous week, but eight percent lower than the weekly average.

Texas corn cash prices were only a cent lower, and corn futures prices were unchanged after a volatile week. Corn export sales were up more than double again from the previous week and four-week average. Export shipments were 91 percent higher than last week and 31 percent higher than the average.

Nearly all of the state recorded precipitation last week, with parts of the Texas Panhandle and all of Central and East Texas recording one-half inch or more. Last week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed drought conditions near unchanged with about 60 percent of the state experiencing some level of drought intensity, unchanged from last week. On the national level, more than 46 percent of the U.S. is experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up almost two percent from last week.

Crude oil futures fell to $45.59 per barrel; that’s its lowest price so far this year. The European Central Bank also announced an economic stimulus plan aimed at reviving the Eurozone economy. This has caused the U.S. dollar to strengthen in value and is putting pressure on most U.S. commodities, especially grains.

Additional information on agricultural weather, crop progress and agricultural markets can be found on the TDA Market News page.