Entire Dairy Complex Deflated

ZISK
May 7
1 min read

The T.C. Jacoby Weekly Market Report Week Ending May 1, 2026

A tiny bit of air leaked out of the spot milk powder market, and the entire dairy complex deflated. CME spot nonfat dry milk (NDM) notched an all-time high on Tuesday at $2.265 per pound. Prices slipped Wednesday and Thursday and then bounced back on Friday. Spot NDM closed the week at $2.2625, just a hairsbreadth off the high and up 0.25ȼ for the week.

But when spot NDM took a breather, dairy futures collapsed. Milk, cheese, whey, butter, and milk powder futures lost ground nearly every day this week. July and August NDM futures plummeted 4ȼ on Friday, their maximum daily loss, despite the late-week rebound in the spot market. Class IV futures lost an average of 88ȼ, but values remained lofty. May and June Class IV are still north of $21 per cwt. Class III contracts lost an average of 44ȼ this week; they settled in the $17s and $18s. The broad decline demonstrates just how much the dairy markets had been drafting in NDM’s wake.

Click here to continue reading