The Latest: May - 2026
The Short Squeeze Is Over
When Wile E. Coyote plummets off a cliff, Warner Brothers inevitably plays a “descending slide whistle.” That heart-dropping sound echoed across LaSalle Street this week as the bottom fell out of the milk powder market. The short squeeze is over. The two milk powder manufacturers who were desperately bidding for product to meet the commitments they could not fill with their own supplies due to food safety recalls have likely caught up and are back to using their own powder. And sky-high prices have killed demand from other buyers.
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The markets sprinted straight uphill on Monday and with amazing stamina and speed, they maintained their frantic pace. They finally tired on Friday and despite the late-week retreat, the total mileage is impressive.
View reportThe pandemic sickened the dairy markets in April, creating immense pain on the farm. But there are better days ahead.
View reportThe inverted futures curve highlights that the fresh cheese shortage is likely temporary. But immediate demand must be formidable if we have managed to tighten up fresh cheese inventories so quickly after piling up cheese in immense volumes last month.
View reportThe dairy markets in general, and the cheese and butter markets in particular, have been buoyed by a perfect storm of purchases. This week’s vigorous rally suggests the dairy downturn may be over sooner than we had feared.
View reportMost of the dairy complex gained ground last week, and this week prices moved higher across the board. Despite the recovery, the next several milk checks promise to be agonizingly inadequate.
View reportMost dairy markets bounced back this week. There is still more milk than the market needs but for myriad reasons, the excess has become a little less burdensome. The markets are working.
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