CME cheese prices rebounded since last week, driven by more export orders and lower local supplies driven by a shortage of 640lb product containers. Both factors have more than offset weaker retail demand. This week on CME, cheese block and barrel prices lifted to US$3,864/t and US$3,632/t respectively, but with limited upside with strong milk flows continuing and as export cheese prices (GDT, EU cheddar and the bottom end of the USDA’s range for Oceania quotes) have recently weakened.

Meanwhile, dry whey prices on the CME traded at US$1,185/t due expectations of lower Chinese import demand with the weaker pork and hog markets. Quotes from USDA for Central and West regions are as much as US100/t higher than this however. With heavy inventories, the sentiment is the NFDM and butter markets are also weak, with latest CME prices at US$2,794/t and US$3,770/t respectively. Butter tipped over US$4,000/t a month ago.