Monday Midday Dairy Market Summary - Low Volume

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY:

CORN:	unchanged
SOYBEANS:	$0.08 Higher
SOYBEAN MEAL:	$1.60 Lower
LIVE CATTLE:	$0.550 Lower
DOW JONES:	130 Points Higher
NASDAQ:	36 Points Higher
CRUDE OIL:	$2.13 Higher

MIDDAY MARKET UPDATE:

Block cheese gained 0.0550 cents, closing at $1.5000 with two loads traded. Barrel cheese price unchanged, closing at $1.4675 with one load traded. Dry whey price unchanged at 42.75 with no loads traded. Butter price unchanged at $2.5450 with no loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk price unchanged at $1.1750 with no loads traded. Class III futures are mixed, ranging from 7 cents higher to 3 cents lower. Class IV futures are 3 cents lower with only five contracts trading so far Monday. Butter futures are 0.50 cent lower to 0.90 cent lower. Dry whey futures have not traded yet Monday. 

Monday Morning Dairy Market Update - Limited Trade Ahead of Cash

OPENING CALLS:

Class III Milk Futures:	Mixed
Class IV Milk Futures:	Mixed
Butter Futures:	Mixed

OUTSIDE MARKET OPENING CALLS:

Corn Futures:	Steady to 1 Lower
Soybean Futures:	1 to 3 Lower
Soybean Meal Futures:	$2 to $4 Lower
Wheat Futures:	3 to 5 Lower

MILK:

Milk futures are expected to drift this morning as traders will wait for direction from underlying cash. However, whichever direction cash moves, it may have limited impact as traders anticipate a continued choppy market. Milder winter weather will allow for milk production to improve again and potentially slowly trend higher. Milk futures are expected to roll down in nearby months if underlying cash remains in a sideways pattern. The January contract is priced by the trade and will see limited price movement until the Federal Order prices are released on January 31.

CHEESE:

Prices are expected to remain choppy with limited upside potential for the foreseeable future. Cheese production is sufficient for demand, leaving buyers less aggressive in the cash market. Manufacturers have been moving cheese to the market to limit inventory build which could keep supply in line with a year ago.

BUTTER:

Butter price has been holding at a higher level on in a wider price range than a year ago. However, with strong churning activity and plentiful cream supply, price may eventually drop back to the levels of a year ago.

Friday Closing Dairy Market Update - GDT Gains 2.3%

MILK

Traders had nothing to get excited about today, which left trade volatility subdued and prices mixed. The strength in nearby Class III futures was not a matter of traders thinking underlying spot prices will increase, but more short covering into the weekend. The strength of barrels was mostly offset by the weakness of blocks. The Global Dairy Trade auction took place earlier in the week and showed an increase of 2.3 percent for the trade weighted average from the previous event. Anhydrous milk fat increased 4.3 percent to $5,842 per metric ton or $2.65 per pound. Butter increased 5.8 percent to $5,906 per metric ton or $2.68 per pound. Cheddar cheese increased 1.0 percent to $4,217 per metric ton or $1.91 per pound. Mozzarella cheese decreased 3.3 percent to $3,830 per metric ton or $1.74 per pound. Lactose increased 1.3 percent to $760 per pound. Skim milk powder gained 1.2 percent to $2,638 per metric ton or $1.20 per pound. Whole milk powder increased 1.7 percent to $3,352 per metric ton, or $1.52 per pound.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES

3 Month:	$15.61
6 Month:	$16.51
9 Month:	$17.10
12 Month:	$17.42

CHEESE

For the week, block cheese was hit the hardest with the price declining 11.50 cents with 21 loads traded. Barrels gained 2.25 cents with 16 loads traded. Dry whey slipped 0.25 cent with 11 loads traded. With the decline of blocks this week, it is surprising Class III milk futures did not fall much more than they had. The choppy market leaves futures in a narrow range providing traders with little movement to try and take profits.

BUTTER

For the week, butter declined 2.25 cents with 33 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined a penny with 15 loads traded. Price is about in the middle of the price range it has been in since early November. Price remains higher than it was a year ago and hopefully will remain that way. However, with inventory higher to the end of the year and butter production currently strong, Price could move back into the range of last year over time.

OUTSIDE MARKETS SUMMARY

March corn closed up 1.50 cents per bushel at $4.4550, March soybeans closed down .25 cent at $12.1325 and March soybean meal closed down $4.80 per ton at $356.50. March Chicago wheat closed up 7.75 cents at $5.9325. February live cattle closed down $0.45 at $174.38. March crude oil is down $.42 per barrel at $73.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 395 points at 37,864 with the NASDAQ is up 255 points at 15,311.