GENERAL OVERVIEW:
Butter has been on a roll this week, rallying 5 cents two days in a row in the cash market and futures up another 7 cents today. Its strength is leaking over to the other dairy futures markets, giving some short-term hope.
MILK:
Class III Milk showed some small gains in most of the futures months today, holding steady at current levels. Class IV Milk futures were 48 cents to 61 cents higher, and Non-Fat Milk rallied 2 cents to 5 cents higher today. Dry Whey futures experienced the only losses on the day, trading slightly lower. The market is expecting high production levels on Friday's report, so anything different reported could cause a shock to the market. Winds and cold weather are starting to hit the northern plains.
AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES:
| 3 Month: | $15.17 |
| 6 Month: | $15.66 |
| 9 Month: | $16.22 |
| 12 Month: | $16.55 |
CHEESE:
Block Cheese traded higher in the cash market, however Barrels remained unchanged. Retail demand is steady, giving support to the spot market. Cheese futures traded 0.2 to 0.8 cents higher on the day. Exports are strong, but the supply of available cheese is plentiful domestically.
BUTTER:
Butter futures are the star of the day with gains of 6.5 to 7.5 cents higher, leading the way for the rest of the dairy complex. The cash market traded 5 cents higher for the second day in a row, making spot prices 10 cents higher on the short trading week. The government's new health guidelines shed new light on healthy fats, and we'll see in the coming months how significant a shift that will make in consumer demand.
OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:
March corn closed down 2.00 cents per bushel at $4.2175, March soybeans closed up 11.50 cents at $10.6450 and March soybean meal closed down $.20 per ton at $291.40. March Chicago wheat closed down 2.50 cents at $5.0775. April live cattle closed up $0.38 at $234.95. March crude oil is up .29 per barrel at $60.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 588 points at 49,077 and the NASDAQ is up 270 points at 23,244.
