Market Updates for December 31, 2021

Large -Down

Medium -Down

Small - No change

Retail demand mixed. Supplies of extra large and large well balanced and held confidently. Market steady to full steady.

Butter- Up

Cream inventories are continuing to tighten as ice cream production starts to compete for raw material and hits it's production stride. Retail sales show signs of decline, but overall are still healthy. With restaurants reopening food service distributors are still coming back to the buying table, but orders are still below expectations. 

Barrel - Up

Block - Up

The CME Block market responded to the governments release of another billion dollars in the USDA Box program.  Speculators feel this will have an effect on the markets for the short term but will not be sustainable for the long term.

Pricing remains elevated as the US government looks at way to balance supply with demand. No big market changes due to the holidays. Powdered sugar remains a bit tight due to lack of starch availability. 

Pricing remains steady at pretty high pricing with little trade due to the holidays and high asking prices. 

Soybean export shipments have begun picking up steam, with India leading the charge. Disappearance has been just slightly below the 5-year average, which includes last year's blistering pace with record shipments to China. Meanwhile we saw the 9th largest export shipment tender on soybean oil ever recorded at 109,000 MT last week. Both have been very supportive to the bean complex. Last month we saw soy oil futures break below the 200-day moving average for the first time since mid-2020. The recent export demand popped prices higher and they are once again testing the 200-day threshold. Should we see futures break through and move higher it may be an indication that we've put in seasonal lows already. We'll get a clearer picture once we get into January and traders come back from their holiday vacations.