TDA Market Recap July 20, 2015 (7/21/2015)

AUSTIN – (July 20, 2015) For the week ending July 18, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $1 to $8 lower per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were mostly $1 to $4 lower with some steady sales early in the week. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $3.68 to close at $233.30 per cwt and Select Grade losing $4.60 to close at $229.39 per cwt. Net export sales for July 3 –9 were down 37 percent from the previous week. Export shipments of 11,800 metric tons (MT) were up four percent from the previous week. Shipments primarily went to Japan, Canada and South Korea.

Cotton cash prices were 0.25 cents higher than the previous week and closed at 61.13 cents per pound. October futures prices settled at 65.87 cents per pound, 0.36 cents higher than last week. For the reporting period of July 6 – 12, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that cotton planting was complete. Fifty-one percent of cotton acreage is in the squaring stage, up 15 percentage points from the previous week but down five percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales were up 69 percent from the previous week’s sales. Shipments were down 36 percent from the previous week and 35 percent from the average.

Wheat cash prices lost $0.26 to settle at $4.92 per bushel. Futures prices lost $0.11 to settle at $5.47 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that 95 percent of the Texas wheat crop has been harvested, with 47 percent of wheat acreage in good to excellent condition. Net export sales for wheat were 291,500 MT, with increases reported for the Philippines, Japan and Jamaica.

Texas corn prices were lower, with cash prices down to $4.45 per bushel and futures prices up to $4.20 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 74 percent of the Texas corn crop is in the silking stage, with 63 percent of corn acreage in good to excellent condition. Corn export sales were down 38 percent from the previous week and 41 percent from the prior four-week average. Export shipments were 17 percent higher than the previous week and nine percent higher than the average.

This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed only 2.84 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in moderate, severe, extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions improved slightly, with approximately 35 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, down just slightly from last week.

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

All cash prices above are market averages for locations covered by the USDA Market News program and do not reflect any particular sale at any specific location. Feeder cattle prices are for Texas direct sales of 650-850 pound medium and large No.1 steers for current delivery. Futures prices are quoted for the nearest month contract on the last trading day of the week. Timber prices are from the Texas A&M Forest Service, bimonthly “Texas Timber Price Trends.” MBF = thousand board feet. For additional information, contact TDA at (800) 835-5832 or visit our website, www.TexasAgriculture.gov.