OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | 4 to 8 Higher |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | Steady to 5 Higher |
| Butter Futures: | 1 to 2 Higher |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | 1 to 3 Higher |
| Soybean Futures: | 3 to 6 Higher |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | $1 to $2 Higher |
| Wheat Futures: | 8 to 10 Higher |
MILK:
Milk futures showed further strength Thursday with Class IV outpacing Class III. Butter pushing to a new record high provided strong support for Class IV futures. Class III contracts were steady to higher but lacked the strength of Class IV. Traders remain cautious over the duration of the strength of cheese. Overnight trade is just shy of $22.00 again after being above that level briefly Thursday. Slowly increasing milk production is not bearish to the market at the present time as overall higher demand is providing support. Milk production should continue to improve as weather turns colder. Exports continued to remain strong during August with a gain of 6.0% with the value of exports increasing 23%. Nonfat dry milk and skim milk power exports continue to suffer, being down from the previous month and this year.
CHEESE:
Block cheese price continues to hold sideways while barrels are trending higher. Barrels have reached the highest level since June 8. Cheese exports in August increased 5.9%, reaching 38,382 metric tons (mt). The high U.S. dollar has yet to have a significant impact on the market.
BUTTER:
Butter set a new contract high Thursday and seems like it may increase further. Buyers remain aggressive at higher prices as orders continue to surface and buyers need to fill those orders. Exports remain very strong with butterfat exports up 71% in August, reaching 7,888 mo. Nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder exports declined 17.0% in August totaling 64,733 mt.
