While yesterday’s USDA Cold Storage didn’t contain particularly bearish butter stocks data, it did confirm that there is plenty of butter out there. Today the spot butter price tumbled to the lowest level since early March. Butter futures were under pressure too, weighing on the Class IV market. Other markets were relatively quiet today – Class III and cheese futures were mixed, there was very limited trading in NDM, and whey gave back some of the gains from earlier this week.
Today’s Highlights from Ever.Ag’s Know Your Markets
- Yesterday’s Cold Storage report knocked a bit of support away from the spot butter price, which dropped to $2.2800 per pound, 4.5 cents lower. Three loads changed hands. CME cheese markets had a quieter day after yesterday’s tumble. Barrels ticked up 1.5 cents to $1.7050 per pound, while blocks were unchanged at $1.7000. Eight lots of blocks and three of barrels changed hands.
- The drop in spot butter carried over to Class IV. Q3 settled at $18.41 per hundredweight, a 13-cent loss. Class III also declined, with the May contract slipping to $18.27 per hundredweight, a nickel lower, and June futures down nine cents to $17.08.
- The final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index settled at 52.2, up slightly from the preliminary reading, but still the fourth-lowest on record. That compares to 57.0 in March and 77.2 last year. Stock market instability, inflation and trade uncertainty weighed heavily on consumers across all demographics.
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.
