At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Class III milk futures closed higher Thursday supported by bullish market expectations the dairy herd is shrinking. Class III milk futures bounced 22-30 cents per cwt. higher on Thursday September through December. The average on the last 4 months now stands at $16.16 per cwt. First quarter 2019 traded 17-19 cents higher while the 2ndhalf of 2019 ascended 1-5 cents as well. The 1sthalf of 2019 closed Thursday at $15.93 per cwt. while the full year is at $16.15 per cwt. Class IV markets had small volume and finished mainly unchanged.
Cheddar blocks added 1 and ¼ cents to $1.65 after 2 trades. Barrels gained a penny to $1.57 and ½ cents. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined 1 and ¼ cents to 86 and ¼ cents per lb. Butter closed down $0.0025 at $2.2475. Five trades were made ranging from $2.2325 to $2.25. Dry whey was up two cents at $0.47.