CME Butter, after rallying for five straight weeks and hitting an all-time high of $3.5025 per pound on Oct. 6, finally began to show weakness last week. It closed at $3.3975 on Thursday, Oct. 19. Reports indicate demand for butter is slowing, and cream multiples are peaking.

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Cream supplies are plentiful, keeping butter churns active around the United States, reports the USDA's Dairy Market News. Producers in the center of the country are planning to pack away butter for the late summer and early fall.

Wholesale prices for butter reached a record high at the CME Group this year. The outlook is that U.S. demand for butter will ease. It is also possible that foreign butter will come to America.

Western butter prices are steady to weak as increased butter in cold storage weighs on the market. Buyers are looking for discounts as an incentive to purchase more than immediate needs.

Cheddar Cheese prices received for U.S. 40-pound blocks averaged $1.51 per pound for the week, up 1.8 cents. The price for U.S. 500-pound barrels adjusted to 38% moisture averaged $1.55 per pound, up 4.9 cents.

Butter prices received for 25-kilogram and 68-pound boxes meeting United States Department of Agriculture Grade AA standards averaged $1.44 per pound for the week ending March 17.

Dry Whey prices received for bag, tote, and tanker sales meeting USDA Extra Grade standards averaged 61.9 cents per pound, an increase of 1.3 cents.

Butter prices received for 25 kilogram and 68 pound boxes meeting United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grade AA standards averaged $1.42 per pound for the week ending Feb. 25, 2012. The U.S. price per pound decreased 2.2 cents from the previous week.