MILK:
It has been a wild week for Class III milk futures with contracts moving above $20.00 only to fall back by the close of Friday. Underlying cash cheese prices did not fall apart today but the initial increase in the barrel cheese price before moving into negative territory became the focus of the trade. The strong gain of dry whey was unable to provide support. The positive aspect was that Class III futures closed significantly higher for the week. Trading activity is expected to be interesting and volatile through the end of the year. Milk production is slowly improving with production per cow increasing. It is unclear whether cow numbers have continued to increase in November following the strong increase in October. Class IV futures are struggling with most contracts closing at lower prices than a week ago. The price gap between Class III and Class IV narrowed significantly over the past week.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $19.49 |
| 6 Month: | $19.47 |
| 9 Month: | $19.32 |
| 12 Month: | $19.18 |
CHEESE:
For the week, blocks jumped 10 cents with 14 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.7595 compared to $1.6745 the previous week. Barrels gained 3.75 cents with 18 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.7020 compared to $1.6510 the previous week. Dry whey gained 8.25 cents with seven loads traded. The weekly average price is 75.10 compared to 71.35 last week. Dry whey moved to a new high for this year four of the past five days. The price reached the highest level since February 23, 2022.
BUTTER:
For the week, butter fell 8 cents with 30 loads traded. The weekly average price is $2.5155 compared to $2.5285 last week. Price fell to a new low for this year and to the lowest level since December 14, 2023. If the price were to decline below $2.46, it would be back to the levels last seen since July 2023. The price is expected to see further weakness as holiday demand is filled and churning is very active utilizing the available cream. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined 1.50 cents with 20 loads traded. The weekly average price is $1.3815 compared to 1.3825 last week.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
March corn closed down 1.50 cents per bushel at $4.4200, January soybeans closed down 7.50 cents at $9.8825 and January soybean meal closed down $3.30 per ton at $286.20. March Chicago wheat closed down 6.25 cents at $5.5225. February live cattle closed up $1.18 at $192.03. January crude oil is up $1.27 per barrel at $71.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 86 points at 43,828 with the NASDAQ up 24 points at 19,927.
