At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Class III milk futures closed mixed Tuesday. The mishmash of product outcomes kept Class III markets subdued all day with little change to price. In the end, the average for the fourth quarter of the year dropped 3 cents to $16.19 while the first half next year fell 2 cents to $16.04. Class IV markets saw uptick moving the average for the balance of the year to $15.16, up six cents. While the first half of 2019 rose 13 cents to end the day at $15.60. September milk closed a penny higher at $16.14. October down a dime at $15.85. November three cents higher at $16.42. December down a penny at $16.26. January through next August contracts closed two cents lower to a penny higher.
Whey broke through to a new record high on Tuesday, rising three-quarters of a cent to finish at 53 cents in the CME spot trade. That was a needed offset to the barrel prices, which fell 4 cents even after yesterday’s rise. After 15 loads traded hands, it finishes at $1.34. Barrels were down $0.04 at $1.34. Thirteen trades were made ranging from $1.34 to $1.3375. Blocks remained unchanged at $1.6350. Butter closed up $0.05 at $2.28. Five trades were made ranging from $2.28 to $2.31. Nonfat dry milk was up $0.0025 at $0.8750. One sale was made at that price.
