MILK
May and June Class III futures closed at $25.03 and $25, respectively. This is the first time ever Class III milk futures have closed above $25 per cwt. There are some projections for higher prices given current fundamentals. However, it is unclear as to what level demand may slow. Milk production at 1% lower than a year ago for the month of February is supportive to the market. However, if there is some slowing of demand, it may not make much difference. The South Dairy Trade volumes and prices were released Tuesday. These are volumes and average prices of dairy products that have moved through ports in Argentina and Uruguay for export and are recorded over a 15-day period. The average price for Argentina was $4,050.74 USD per ton. There were 21 destinations with the total amount exported at 13,643.79 tons from 2/1 through 2/15. Whole milk powder price increased 4.1% from the previous period to $1.98 per pound. Skim milk powder increased 6.4% to $1.72 per pound. Semi-hard cheese increased 2.2% to $2.04 per pound. Hard cheese increased 4.6% to $3.14 per pound. Butter increased 2.0% to $2.44, and buttermilk increased 8.3% to $1.34 per pound. Exports moved through ports in Uruguay during the period of 3/1 through 3/15 totaled 6,063.53 tons to 21 destinations with an average price of $3,895.55 USD per ton. Whole milk powder increased 1.4% from the previous period to $1.94 per pound. Skim milk powder increased 5.7% to $1.75 per pound. Semi-hard cheese declined 1.5% to $2.03 per pound. Hard cheese increased 8.4% to $3.24 per pound. Butter declined 4.7% to $2.36 per pound.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $22.92 |
| 6 Month: | $24.34 |
| 9 Month: | $24.18 |
| 12 Month: | $23.68 |
CHEESE
Both block and barrel cheese are within striking distance of exceeding the highs established on March 10. Blocks are 2.25 cents below the high, while barrels moved to a new recent high and back to the highest level since Nov. 10, 2020. Buyers have been aggressive but may back off a little at these prices now that they may have purchased what they need for the time being.
BUTTER
Current supply is sufficient for demand. Buyers are interested in purchasing supply to increase ownership but without quite the aggressiveness as cheese. USDA will release the February Cold Storage report Wednesday, which should show an increase of inventory, but the gain may be lighter than usual for the month of February.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
May corn declined 3.25 cents, closing at $7.53. May soybeans gained 5.50 cents, ending at $16.9650, with May soybean meal down $4.50 per ton, closing at $476.80. May wheat slipped a penny to $11.1825. April live cattle declined $0.62, ending at $139.42. May crude oil declined $0.76, closing at $109.27 per barrel. The Dow gained 254 points, ending at 34,807, while the NASDAQ gained 270 points, closing at 14,109.
