News

Cheese rockets 10 cents in two days

February 22, 2005

After holding below $1.45 per pound for two weeks, prices for block cheddar cheese rose for the second straight trading session.

In Feb. 22 trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, blocks rose more than 4 cents, only to be bested the next day with a spike of nearly 6 cents. When trading stopped, blocks fetched $1.537 per pound.

Blocks hit a 2004 low on Feb. 9.

Solid demand appears to be driving the trend. USDA data released on Feb. 22 showed nationwide cheese stocks down several percent compared to the same time last year. This year's March arrival of Easter (rather than April) also is pressuring current supplies.

Read more in our Cheese Market Analysis Research Center.