This week’s spot cheese sessions started out with a pop, but today blocks were down nearly five cents and subsequently dragged futures lower, with Class III futures knocking back to near $17.30 in July. Butter and NDM contracts for 2025 ended the day mostly in the red. Grains took the opposite approach as December corn rallied about 16 cents throughout the day. Feeder cattle also found some footing as they bounced a couple of dollars higher following yesterday’s USDA announcement that port cattle yards will begin opening on the southern border this month. Trade might slow down as the long holiday weekend approaches.
Today’s Highlights from Ever.Ag’s Know Your Markets
- Today’s biggest mover on the CME markets was cheese blocks, falling almost a nickel to $1.6750 with four lots trading. Barrels were down a half cent to $1.7200 with three lots exchanged. Butter lost $0.0225 to land at $2.5800 with 12 loads traded. NDM ticked up one-and-a-half cents to $1.2700 with three loads exchanging hands. Whey was up a penny and reached $0.6050 with no lots traded.
- Following the loses in spot cheese, the August Class III contract tumbled 28 cents to $18.15 per hundredweight. The August Class IV contract was unchanged at $19.23 per hundredweight. In the grain markets, July corn jumped six cents to $4.2600 per bushel. Soybeans were nearly 16 cents higher, at $10.4050 per bushel, and soybean meal came in at $271.30 per ton, up $2.10.
- US cheese is still competitive on the global market at a weekly average of $1.72 per pound compared to $2.20 in New Zealand and $2.46 in Europe. At $2.59 per pound, US butter is also selling at a steep discount to New Zealand at $3.33 and Europe at $3.89. Global milk powder prices are in a tighter cluster, with New Zealand being the cheapest at $1.23 per pound versus $1.26 in the US and $1.29 in Europe. Meanwhile, US whey was the most expensive this week, at $0.60 per pound, compared to $0.51 in New Zealand and $0.42 in Europe.
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.
