Butter stocks were 11,630t lower in August than in July (only slightly less than the five-year average), down 5.7% YOY at 138,735t according to USDA’s latest Cold Storage report. With persistent reports of ample butter supply heading into the holiday season and plenty of cream available, this report will do little to sway current market dynamics.

August cheese inventories decreased by 4,942t from July, but were still up 1.7% YOY. Other-than-American-cheese stocks (including mozzarella) were down 0.2% YOY. “American cheese” stocks increased between July and August by 2,128t month-on-month, and were 3.1% higher YOY. With growing milk supply, expanding cheese production, persistent soft domestic demand and looming uncertainty around export competitiveness, this report leaned bearish.