OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | Mixed |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | Mixed |
| Butter Futures: | Steady to 1 Lower |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | 4 to 7 Higher |
| Soybean Futures: | 10 to 15 Higher |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | $4 to $6 Higher |
| Wheat Futures: | Mixed |
MILK:
Milk futures closed under pressure Monday despite further gains of cheese prices. Traders are convinced the recent increase of cheese prices will be short-lived. Strong milk leaving sufficient milk available for manufacturing and bottling leaves the market with little concern over supply. There have been some, and still are some, adverse weather conditions that may have an impact further down the road but so far have not had any significant impact on milk production. Overnight trade was light in Class III futures with the contracts that did trade remained steady providing no price direction.
CHEESE:
It seems as if buyers of cheese may be more apt to continue to purchase for an extended period of time during this time of year as they begin to look ahead to the end of the year. They would generally begin purchasing to increase ownership of cheese. However, the recent price increase may not bring other buyers in from the sidelines, resulting in lower prices again once current buying interest is satisfied. There is currently no concern over any tightness of supply.
BUTTER:
The weakness of butter is not a good sign as food service demand is strong and exports are running substantially higher than last year. Production has been steady with cream available. This has been able to meet demand as well as increase inventory. Supplies are plentiful leaving buyers purchasing on an as-needed basis.
