MD_DA431
DA
MD DA431 BUTTER - CENTRAL 

MADISON, WI.  June 12, 2013 (Report 24)

CENTRAL BUTTER:  


Butter prices typically begin trending up as the weather gets hotter.  
Butter has remained at $1.5400 from May 29th until last Friday, when 
prices moved up 1/2 cent.  Some managers thought the increase had begun, 
but on Tuesday prices moved back down 1/2 cent and stayed there 
Wednesday.  There is "more than plenty" butter in inventories as noted by 
a coop representative.  Year in and year out the hotter weather arrives 
with cream prices moving higher, as ice cream manufacturers begin to call 
for more cream.  This tends to pull butter prices along.  Thus, a number 
of butter manufacturers expect butter prices will trend up and the 
questions are: when, and how much?  Class II cream usage for ice cream 
manufacturing is heavy in some Central regional plants this week and 
scheduled to continue for at least several weeks.  This will increasingly 
compete with Class IV cream for butter churning.  Nevertheless, some 
churns are reporting strong production this week.  Bulk butter prices are 
mostly reported as flat.  Butter retail advertising volume nationally 
reported in the National Dairy Retail Report for a 1 pound package of butter 
declined, while the weighted average advertised price increased. Ad numbers 
this period decreased nearly 19% from two weeks ago, while the weighted 
average advertised price increased by 20 cents to $2.97.  One year ago the 
national average butter price was $2.88, 9 cents lower than currently.  In 
the Midwest butter ad numbers increased by slightly over 10% from two weeks 
ago while the current price, $2.38, is 17 cents lower.  The $2.38 Midwest 
price is 59 cents below the national price.



1500c   eric.graf@ams.usda.gov