MD_DA440  
DA 
MD DA440 BUTTER - WEST 

MADISON, WI.  AUGUST 26, 2015 (REPORT 34)

WEST BUTTER

Regular customers are providing a steady demand for butter, but the 
increased draw down of butter supplies normally seen in late summer 
has not fully started. Some manufacturers are now beginning to see 
retail orders building for holiday season requests. Traders are 
sending signals in some market channels to try to entice buyers to get 
engaged. Industry contacts suggest butter inventories are mixed, being 
slightly long in general, but a little more tight for western butter. 
Current production is steady to lower depending on the strategies of 
cream use. Ice cream production is slowing somewhat, but processors 
trying to build or maintain retail freezer space still are creating a 
demand for cream. The increase in school milk bottling is also making 
milk fat available for butter or ice cream production. Some butter 
manufacturers are seeing a shift in demand and economics for cream and 
are using the cream more fully in their own operations. The DMN 
National Retail Report - Dairy for the week of August 21 - 27, found 
that the U.S. weighted average advertised price of 1 pound butter is 
$2.98, down $.13 from one week ago and down $.38 from one year ago. In 
the Southwest, the weighted average advertised price for 1 pound 
butter was $3.17 with a price range of $2.99 - $3.48, and in the 
Northwest, $3.26 with a price range of $2.99 - $3.99. The NASS Cold 
Storage report noted U.S. butter stocks as of July 31, 2015, were 
254.5 million pounds, down 1% from last month. Butter stocks in all 
warehouses were 180.8 million pounds last year at this time. Bulk 
butter pricing in the West is 4 cents under market to 5 cents above, 
based on the CME Group with various time frames and averages used. The 
Grade AA butter price at the CME Group on Wednesday closed at $2.2925, 
up $.0225 from a week ago.

1530CT Mike.Bandli@ams.usda.gov 608.557.7010
USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin
Dairy Market News website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
Dairy Market News database portal: 
http://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/da-home