Volume. That’s probably the best way to sum up today’s spot trade. Across the dairy complex, sellers came armed with product to move and buyers had their checkbooks out. In the cheese trade, 20 lots of blocks changed hands – the largest single-day volume since April last year. And at 48 lots for the week, it’s the biggest weekly volume since June 2023. It was a similar story in the barrel market, eight lots on the day – the most since September and, at 21 lots, the biggest week since mid-July. Block prices ended the week slightly off the highs, while barrels finished unchanged. Is the market carving out a bottom here? Cheese wasn’t alone in the volume fireworks. A total of 21 lots of butter traded hands today, taking the week’s total to 64 cars – the most since mid-October. And even in spite of heavy sell-side this week, butter finished nearly a nickel higher.
Today’s Highlights from Ever.Ag’s Know Your Markets
- Cheese trading was heavy today, with 20 lots of blocks changing hands, the most since April 21, 2024. Eight loads of barrels traded. Price movements weren’t as exciting, with blocks down $0.0125 to $1.6350 per pound. Barrels also closed at $1.6350, unchanged on the day. Spot butter also saw big trading, with 21 loads exchanged. The spot price dipped 1.5 cents to $2.3500 per pound.
- Spot market declines carried over into futures. The May Class III contract dropped to $17.53 per hundredweight, a 16-cent loss, while May “all cheese” slipped $0.0230 to $1.7290 per pound. May butter also decreased, closing at $2.4370 per pound, $0.0255 lower.
- Nearby grain futures ticked higher on the day as markets anticipate USDA’s Quarterly Stocks and Prospective Plantings reports on Monday. May corn rose to $4.5325 per bushel, up $0.0325, and May soybeans advanced 0.0625 to $10.2300 per bushel.
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