The Latest: May - 2026
Entire Dairy Complex Deflated
A tiny bit of air leaked out of the spot milk powder market, and the entire dairy complex deflated. CME spot nonfat dry milk (NDM) notched an all-time high on Tuesday at $2.265 per pound. Prices slipped Wednesday and Thursday and then bounced back on Friday. Spot NDM closed the week at $2.2625, just a hairsbreadth off the high and up 0.25ȼ for the week. But when spot NDM took a breather, dairy futures collapsed. Milk, cheese, whey, butter, and milk powder futures lost ground nearly every day this week. July and August NDM futures plummeted 4ȼ on Friday, their maximum daily loss, despite the late-week rebound in the spot market.
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Although cheese prices are much lower now than they were in June, cheese vats remain full. The other dairy markets tumbled this week as well and the futures bled copious red ink.
View reportAlthough things had started to bounce back in June, the fledgling economy recovery seems to have stalled in July as the virus rages on. The initial panic has calmed, but the pandemic will continue to disrupt the dairy industry in myriad ways.
View reportCheddar blocks have lost ground every day since they topped out less than two weeks ago. Still, there is more than enough cheese to meet demand, even if manufacturers dug into inventories last month.
View reportOn Monday they sprinted straight uphill to a record-shattering price. Their journey to that point is an astounding feat of strength and stamina but by the end of the week, prices had fallen far enough to attract buyers.
View reportIn an environment as fickle as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, bulls are not typically bred for their stamina. But in the Cheddar block market there is a bull of a different breed.
View reportAlthough there is plenty of milk, there is a shortage of fresh cheese and demand remains resilient despite the price.
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