CME spot dairy auction prices fell once again during Thursday’s trade across all products not named whey. Whey prices added a half cent following a single trade and ended at $0.54/lb. Barrel cheese declined 5 cents before trading 18 loads between $1.38 and $1.39/lb, respectively. Blocks lost 7.75 cents/lb as just a single load traded amongst sellers and buyers. Blocks ended at $1.6525/lb. Butter weakened 5.25 cents/lb to $1.4025/lb. The non-fat dry milk price was also reduced by 1.75 cents/lb.
February Class III milk prices suffered another 70-cent fall with settlement coming in around $16.45/cwt. For the week, this contract has fallen $2.67/cwt thus far. March lost another 40 cents and April was down about 15 cents. Beyond April, months ranged from down five to up seven cents. Class IV markets were lower across the board as well.
Feed prices closed off the early highs with mixed results. Corn added 2-3 cents/bu but settled 7 cents from their peak while soybeans traded 1-2 stronger and 16 away from their highs. Soybean meal softened $4/ton to a spot price of $438/ton. The wheat complex ranged from a penny lower in Kansas City and Minneapolis to down 7 in Chicago.
