Economic - Markets
Milk Markets Take a Big Hit
Crude oil fell $10/barrel to $103/barrel while diesel declined 40 cents and gas was off 30 cents/gallon. Corn softened 5 cents/bu while wheat dropped 40 cents in both the Chicago and Kansas City markets whereas Minneapolis was down 25 cents. Soybeans had a rough performance faltering 40 cents in the spot market while meal closed $3-$9/ton lower.
Class III milk futures were unable to escape the commodity selloff Monday. April suffered a 77 cent break while May lost 85 cents and June faltered 73. The second half of the year ranged from 16-49 lower. Class IV closed in the red as well with losses ranging from a penny lower in November to 37 softer in July.
The spot market was lower with butter leading the charged. Butter lost 5.75 cents as 8 trades took place. Block cheese softened 1.5 cents/lb while nonfat dry milk fell ¾ of a cent and whey was off ¼ cent.