TDA Market Recap, Sept. 1, 2015

For the week ending Aug. 29, 2015, Texas auctions quoted feeder cattle prices $3 to $15 lower per hundredweight (cwt). Texas weekly direct feeder cattle sales were fully steady. Wholesale beef values were lower, with Choice Grade losing $0.03 to close at $244.21 per cwt and Select Grade losing $0.48 to close at $233.12 per cwt. Net export sales totaling 12,800 metric tons (MT) for Aug. 14 – 20 were up 54 percent from the previous week. Export shipments of 16,300 MT were up four percent from the previous week. Shipments primarily went to Mexico, Japan and Canada.
Cotton cash prices were 2.00 cents lower than the previous week and closed at 59.88 cents per pound. October futures prices settled at 63.83 cents per pound, 3.83 cents lower than last week. For the reporting period of Aug. 17 – 23, the USDA NASS Texas field office indicated that 97 percent of cotton acreage is in the squaring stage, up two percentage points from the previous week but down three percentage points from last year. Net export cotton sales totaled 61,100 bales. The primary destinations were Columbia, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Wheat cash and futures prices lost $0.16 cents to settle at $4.07 per bushel and $4.65 per bushel, respectively. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported producers applied fertilizer and prepared soils in preparation for seeding of small grains. Net exports for wheat were 357,200 MT, with increased purchases reported for Mexico, Chile and the Philippines.
Texas corn prices were lower, with cash prices going down to $3.84 per bushel and futures prices down to $3.64 per bushel. The USDA NASS Texas field office reported 100 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 986,000 MT. Export shipments of 820,600 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the previous four-week average. Primary destinations were Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
This week’s Drought Monitor for Texas showed a slight improvement of drought conditions for the state, with approximately 41 percent of Texas still in some stage of drought intensity. On the national level, drought conditions also slightly improved, 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.