MILK
Class III milk futures were under pressure today with contracts closing steady to lower. Traders are just not interested in buying into the market due to the continued weakness of cheese prices. April and May futures again made new contract lows while other months hit new lows for the current trend. Class IV futures were unchanged across the board. This is the first time I have seen all contracts remain unchanged at the end of the day.
The increase in butter and nonfat dry milk did not generate any aggressive buying in Class III contracts. Dairy exports in January did not begin the year on solid footing. Total exports were 5% below January 2023 at 172,167 metric tons (mt). This was the 12th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. The value of those exports was down 16% from a year ago. Global dairy demand continues to be somewhat lackluster. However, some categories showed some nice increases in exports from a year ago.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES
| 3 Month: | $16.38 |
| 6 Month: | $16.90 |
| 9 Month: | $17.38 |
| 12 Month: | $17.53 |
CHEESE
Cheese exports in January were able to begin the year on a positive note with exports up 12.6% from January 2023. Cheese exports totaled 38,299 mt. Unfortunately, whey exports were down 4.7%, totaling 38,046 mt. Whey protein concentrate +80 showed a strong increase over a year earlier. Export totaled 5,744 mt, up 24.7% from a year earlier. Lactose exports decreased 3.0% from the previous year, totaling 37,099 mt.
BUTTER
Butterfat exports continued to take it on the chin with a total volume of 2,900 mt, down 17.3% from January 2023. Global demand continues to remain slow, hindering export interest. Even though the price is competitive in the world market, shipping is very expensive. Nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder exports declined 14%, totaling 58,635 mt. Whole milk powder exports were 6.3% below a year ago, totaling 1,187 mt.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY
May corn closed steady at $4.4175, May soybeans closed up 16.75 cents at $11.96 and May soybean meal closed up $2 per ton at $339.20. May Chicago wheat closed up .25 cent at $5.4750. April live cattle closed up $0.65 at $188.25. April crude oil is up $0.10 per barrel at $78.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 236 points at 39,005 with the NASDAQ up 246 points at 16,266.
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