OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | 5 to 10 Lower |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | 4 to 8 Lower |
| Butter Futures: | Steady to 1 Lower |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | Mixed |
| Soybean Futures: | 3 to 5 Lower |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | Mixed |
| Wheat Futures: | 6 to 8 Lower |
MILK:
Traders are beginning the week in a negative tone with overnight Class III futures posting double-digit losses. October futures have moved below $18.00 again. Sellers have been bringing cheese to the spot market consistently, leaving buyers unaggressive. The attitude of the traders is bearish as the recent uptrend has basically been eliminated. Demand is good but not good enough to support prices. The milk supply is sufficient for demand. USDA will release the August Milk Production report Monday. I estimate milk production to be 0.6 percent below a year ago and cow numbers to be down 8,000 head from July.
CHEESE:
Cheese prices are expected to be choppy. Lower prices will increase buyer interest while higher prices will increase seller interest. With supply and demand being balanced, prices may remain choppy as the next few weeks unfold. If cheese prices cannot find solid support and trend higher over the next month, higher prices may not be seen the rest of the year.
BUTTER:
Price tried to breakout and trend higher last week but fell back into the range it had been in for a while. With slower exports and steady demand, it may be difficult for prices to trend much higher. Trading activity on the spot market has been strong the past few weeks, leaving buyers less aggressive and well supplied.
