Milk Markets Turn Mostly Red

Dairy Markets were mostly red today. Spot blocks climbed to $1.5700 per pound, adding $0.0200, with 10 lots trading. Barrels eased to $1.5625 per pound, giving up a half-cent, with three loads changing hands. Third quarter Class III futures dropped to $18.02 per hundredweight, a 14-cent loss. The May “all cheese” contract advanced to $1.6850 per pound, 1.5 cents higher. Spot butter remained at $2.9700 per pound, with zero lots exchanged. May butter futures declined to $2.9815 per pound, shedding $0.0035. Spot NDM dipped to $1.1350 per pound, easing by $0.0025, with three loads trading.

At the latest GlobalDairyTrade Pulse event, WMP prices rose to $3,241 per metric ton or $1.47 per pound, up 5.1% versus the previous Pulse and +0.7% compared to Contract 2 at the most recent main event. SMP advanced to $2,550 per metric ton or $1.16 per pound, up 3.2% from the latest Pulse and +2.1% versus Contract 2 at the previous main auction. Third quarter NDM contracts increased to $1.2131 per pound, tacking on $0.0107. Spot dry whey slipped to $0.3675 per pound, losing $0.0125, with three lots changing hands. Third quarter dry whey futures settled at $0.4157 per pound, decreasing by $0.0196.

The May corn contract dipped to $4.3125 per bushel, $0.0425 lower. May soybean futures dropped to $11.7450 per bushel, shedding seven cents. Soybean meal slipped slightly below today's prior levels bringing the nearby contract to $335.60. Crude Oil and Heating Oil are being sold off, likely from profit taking as the energy complex has been bought up to new highs. 

For more on milk markets, read:

• HPAI Fails to Impact Dairy Prices So Far - Why Markets Could Actually See Some Growth in the Near Future
• New Plant Capacity Collides with Shrinking Milk Supply
• Margin and Cost Improvements Not Good Enough
• Here's Why Better Milk Prices Might be Delayed