After seeing some sizable spot volume the last several weeks, spot blocks traded down, with only one truckload trading hands. This week enters the first week (of four) of CME pricing for August Class III milk and cheese futures. The futures market continues to trade at a large premium relative to current spot. That likely explains why we saw Class III futures front-month contracts trade about 3.5 cents lower as markets move toward convergence.
Today’s Highlights from Ever.Ag’s Know Your Markets
- It was a relatively quiet day in Chicago. Spot blocks slipped 1.5 cents to $1.6450 per pound and barrels eased to $1.6700 per pound, a half-cent loss. One lot of blocks and zero of barrels changed hands. Spot butter also declined, down a penny to $2.5800 per pound, with two loads exchanged. NDM and dry whey were unchanged.
- Class III futures continued their downward trajectory, with the August contract shedding 33 cents to close at $17.43 per hundredweight and Q4 dropping to $18.52, 15 cents lower. “All cheese” contracts also declined through the rest of 2025. August led the way, down $0.0230 to $1.7900 per pound.
- USDA rated 74% of the US corn crop in good or excellent condition as of July 13, unchanged on the week and well above the five-year average of 65%. The soybean crop was 70% good or excellent, up from 66% the week before and 62% on the five-year average.
Ever.Ag - The risk of loss trading commodity futures and options can be substantial. Investors should carefully consider the inherent risks in light of their financial condition. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources to be reliable, however, no independent verification has been made. The information contained herein is strictly the opinion of its author and not necessarily of Ever.Ag and is intended to be a solicitation. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
