At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Thursday milk futures were down and cash dairy prices were up. The final average price for the period of August through December finished at $15.73, down 9 cents from Wednesday’s finish.July Class Three milk was down $.04 at $14.14. August was down $.07 at $14.85. September was down $.13 to $15.55. October was down $.07 to $16.14. The 2019 average slipped 2 cents to $16.03. Class IV markets continued their upward stride on the heels of a stronger butter trade. The average price from now through the end of the year is $14.92, up a penny. However, the strongest performance took place in the 2019 calendar with the first half of the year rising 6 cents to $15.61.
The CME spot trade logged yet again another positive performance. Barrels rising ¾ cents to $1.48 and ¾ cents. The price of barrels have now risen 19 and ¾ cents from Monday’s finish. Block cheese remained unchanged to finish once more at $1.51. Two loads did trade on Thursday, however. Grade AA Butter was up $.0450 at $2.27 per pound. Ten carloads sold from $1.2450 to $2.27. Nonfat dry milk was up $.0125 to $.8175 per pound. Two carloads sold at $.8150 and $.82. Dry whey was up $.0025 at $.4125 cents per pound. No sales were recorded.