OPENING CALLS:
| Class III Milk Futures: | 5 to 15 Lower |
| Class IV Milk Futures: | 8 to 10 Lower |
| Butter Futures: | Mixed |
OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:
| Corn Futures: | 1 to 2 Lower |
| Soybean Futures: | 3 to 4 Lower |
| Soybean Meal Futures: | $3 to $4 Lower |
| Wheat Futures: | 7 to 9 Lower |
MILK:
Overnight trading showed moderate activity, with trading confined to the May and June Class III contracts. Follow-through weakness provides the impression of further pressure Thursday. The market environment is such that even minor movement in the underlying cash results in a substantial movement in futures. Sometimes, the market moves in the opposite direction from what cash would indicate, depending on the movement of futures leading up to that time. What is clearly evident is prices will have limited upside potential in the current market environment. USDA will release the March Agricultural Prices report Thursday afternoon, providing most of the prices used for calculating income over feed for the Dairy Margin Coverage program. The average soybean meal price will not be released until Friday.
CHEESE:
The weakness in the block cheese price on Wednesday may have buyers holding back Thursday to see whether sellers will remain aggressive. If the recent pattern holds, the prices may move back to the lows of the range again.
BUTTER:
There is concern butter price may move below the previous low again as sellers remain aggressive. Lower inventory is meaningless with production remaining strong, providing sufficient supply for demand.
