The Latest: October - 2026
Dairy Market Continues to Diverge
The dairy markets continue to diverge. Strong demand for proteins is lifting powder values. This week, CME spot whey powder gained another 2ȼ and reached 82.5ȼ per pound, a fresh 4.5-year high. Spot nonfat dry milk added a nickel, climbing to $2.22, just 7.5ȼ below the all-time high reached this spring. Asian buyers are eager to import U.S. whey powder, propping up prices despite robust production. For NDM, both domestic and international demand are strong, while production remains restrained. Other dairy processors are lapping up much of the milk supply, spot milk prices are rising, and dryers are running light in the Southwest. U.S. milk powder exports to Mexico are formidable.
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On Tuesday CME spot butter jumped 7ȼ to $3.24 per pound, a lofty price for a market that was $1.79 a year ago. After a brief stay at the peak, butter journeyed back downhill, but not before it logged the four highest trading sessions in history.
View reportThe butter market leapt to an all-time high Wednesday and just kept climbing, but lofty values didn’t scare away buyers. The last time that butter prices were even close to this high, the selloff was swift.
View reportThe bulls remain in charge in the butter pit. Grocers are anxious about stocking their shelves with enough product to last through the holiday baking season, and USDA’s recent reports have not calmed their fears.
View reportButter production is always scant in the summer, but it was especially so this year. There were just 314.4 million pounds of butter in cold storage at the end of July, 5.4% less than a year ago and the lowest mid-summer total since 2017.
View reportMarket observers are paying close attention to an evolving global milk production scenario as many key supply regions witnessed a shift in trajectory during June. U.S. production moved into positive territory during the month, rising by a modest 0.2% after months of decline.
View reportThe United States sent a record-setting volume of dairy products abroad in May. Then, after adjusting for a shorter month, it bested that record in June.
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