Bullish follow-through after Friday’s trade had early green in Class III milk ahead of spot. January pulled the rest of Q1 higher. Despite a strong move in cheese and sideways trade in whey, the buyers of Class III seemed to hit a lot of sellers’ offers. But the rally was muted as we moved into the later hours of trading. The balance of 2025 struggled to follow, staying in the $19.00-19.50 territory.
Today’s Highlights
- CME cheese markets jumped higher today, with blocks over $1.90 for the first time since October and barrels passing $1.80 for the first time since November. Spot blocks climbed to $1.9100 per pound, up $0.0375, and barrels settled at $1.8075 per pound, four cents higher. There were no block trades, but two loads of barrels changed hands. Spot butter and NDM each eased a half cent, closing at $2.5700 and $1.3825 per pound. Zero lots of butter and one of barrels traded.
- On the heels of the CME cheese jump, the January Class III contract climbed to $20.43 per hundredweight, tacking on 31 cents. January “all cheese” futures also rose, up $0.0330 to $1.9150 per pound.
- There wasn’t much noise in grain futures. The March corn contract eased to $4.5225 per bushel, shedding $0.0175, while January soybeans ticked up to $9.8200 per bushel, gaining two cents.
