TDA Market Recap, Aug. 25, 2015

Source: TDA Market Summary
For the week ending Aug. 22, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices mostly steady, with instances of sales ranging from $8 lower to $10 higher per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were fully steady. Wholesale beef values were higher, with Choice Grade gaining $1.74 to close at $246.46 per cwt and Select Grade gaining $0.14 to close at $235.58 per cwt. Net export sales totaling 8,300 metric tons (MT) for Aug. 7 – 13 were down 32 percent from the previous week. Export shipments of 9,900 MT were down four percent from the previous week. Shipments primarily went to Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
Cotton cash prices were 0.75 cents higher than the previous week and closed at 61.88 cents per pound. October futures prices settled at 67.66 cents per pound, 0.34 cents lower than last week. For the reporting period of Aug. 10 – 16, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that 95 percent of cotton acreage is in the squaring stage, up one percentage point from the previous week but down four percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales totaled 110,600 bales. The primary destinations were Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey.
Wheat cash prices lost $0.16 and futures prices lost $0.11 to settle at $4.23 per bushel and $4.81 per bushel, respectively. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported that preparations continued for winter wheat and small grain seedings across the state. Net export sales for wheat were 314,000 MT, with increased purchases reported for Japan, Yemen and Nigeria.
Texas corn prices were higher, with cash prices going up to $3.96 per bushel and futures prices up to $3.71 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 98 percent of the Texas corn crop is in the silking stage, with 56 percent of corn acreage in good to excellent condition. Corn export sales were 282,700 MT, which is up noticeably from the previous week and 84 percent from the prior four-week average. Export shipments of 918,100 MT were up nine percent from the previous week but 10 percent lower from the previous four-week average.
This week’s Drought Monitor for Texas showed a worsening of drought conditions for the state, with approximately 42 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. Additionally, none of the state remains in extreme or exceptional drought. On the national level, drought conditions also worsened, with approximately 45 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought.
Additional information on agricultural weather, crop progress and agricultural markets can be found on the TDA Market News page.