In this weekly Commodities Watch column, John T. Barone, president and commodities analyst for Market Vision Inc., offers a snapshot of the state of commodities for restaurants.
Global forces continue to dominate U.S. commodities. Weaker foreign demand and a lower-than-expected U.S. export report helped corn futures drop from $7.61 to $7.37 last week.
Wheat futures also weakened to $8.63 but remain well supported by tight world supplies. A drought in Europe's Black Sea region damaged wheat crops in the Ukraine and Russia. The Ukraine said it may run out of supplies for export in November.
Cheese prices continued to defy gravity, as last week’s $.12 gain trumped the prior week’s $.10 loss and sent the CME block market to a new high for the year of $2.12. Lower year-over-year milk supplies have led to seasonally tight cheese supplies that should keep prices firm through Thanksgiving. First-half 2013 cheese futures are averaging $1.86 and making contracting decisions very difficult for foodservice buyers.
Contact John T. Barone at jbarone@mktvsn.com.
