OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | Mixed |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | 4 top 8 Higher |
| Butter Futures: | Steady to 1 Higher |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | Steady to 1 Higher |
| Soybean Futures: | Mixed |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | $1 to $2 Higher |
| Wheat Futures: | 5 to 7 Lower |
MILK:
Milk futures will be choppy ahead of spot trading but with an upward bias. There seems to be little reason for cheese prices to fall back even though milk production was better than expected in April. Milk futures will remain volatile but underlying cash may not see much weakness. However, the recent milk production report showed farmers responded to the better price outlook with increased milk production per cow. Now that prices look much better, the same may hold for this month. The April Cold Storage report will be released Friday afternoon, providing inventory information compared to a year ago. It is not expected to have an impact on milk futures that took place after the milk production report.
CHEESE:
The block/barrel spread is expected to narrow with both sides moving together rather than one side moving to meet the other. Demand is good but prices may have moved higher than they needed to at this time of year. Buyers have concerns over supply as the year progresses. Inventory is not expected to have increased much in April.
BUTTER:
Butter price continues to trend higher as the market is supported by demand and not perception. Buying has been taking place as current demand needs to be filled and upcoming demand is anticipated to improve. Exports have been slow, but international prices and demand have been improving. With current demand and prices where they are, imagine what prices could do if export demand improves.
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