For the shortened holiday week ending Dec. 2, 2017, Texas feeder cattle auctions were uneven, reporting prices mostly steady to $4 higher, with instances of steady to $5-$7 lower. Texas Weekly Direct reported prices $1 to $5 higher. Wholesale Beef values were down at the end of the week, with Choice Grade losing $5.00 to close at $205.99 per hundredweight (cwt) and Select Grade losing $3.94 to end at $183.61 per cwt. Fed cattle cash prices traded $1 lower at $118.00 per cwt as trade and demand were moderate in the Texas panhandle.
For the time period of Nov. 17-23 exporters reported net sales of 13,800 metric tons (MT) for 2017, where were up 49 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Japan, South Korea and Mexico. Exports of 14,300 MT were down 18 percent from the previous week and 13 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Cotton prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 1.50 to close at 71.75 cents per pound and December futures gaining 3.2 cents to end at 75.43 cents per bushel. Net sales of 276,500 running bales for 2017/2018, down 23 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Pakistan, China and Turkey.
Wheat prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 13 cents to close at $3.79 per bushel and December futures gaining 6 cents to close at $4.21 per bushel. Net sales totaled 184,400 MT for delivery in marketing year 2017/2018, which were down 8 percent from the previous week and 59 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were for Colombia, Japan and the Philippines. Exports of 337,500 MT were up 78 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior 4-week average.  The primary destinations were the Philippines, Japan and Colombia.
Corn prices were higher at the close of last week, with cash prices gaining 6 cents to close at $3.62 per bushel and December futures gaining 3 cents to close at $3.45 per bushel. Net sales of 599,200 MT for 2017/2018 were down 45 percent from the previous week and 54 percent from the prior 4-week average.  Increases were reported for Mexico, Japan and South Korea. Exports of 651,200 MT were primarily to Mexico, Japan and Peru.
Grain sorghum cash prices were higher at the close of last week, gaining 9 cents to end at $5.69 per cwt. Net sales of 328,000 MT for 2017/2018 – a marketing-year high – were up 2 percent from the previous week and 26 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for China and unknown destinations. Exports of 217,100 MT – a marketing-year high – were up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China, Japan and Mexico.
Milk prices were lower at the close of last week, with December Class III milk futures gaining 11 cents to end the week at $15.32 per cwt.
This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas showed slightly moderate drought conditions for the state, with 71.27 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity, up 11.29 percentage points from last week. On the national level, drought conditions worsened, with 42.66 percent of the U.S. experiencing abnormal dryness or some degree of drought, up 5.84 percentage points from last week.

MBF = thousand board feet.
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.”
For additional information, contact TDA at (800) 835-5832 or visit www.TexasAgriculture.gov.