Dairy prices ease again in latest global auction
Anhydrous milk fat unexpectedly fell 7% but whole milk powder firmed.
The global dairy price index has fallen for the fourth successive fortnightly auction, with whole milk powder rising but anhydrous milk fat dropping sharply.
The index was down 0.6% on the previous session and the average price was $US3477 ($4790) a tonne.
Whole milk powder firmed 1.6% to $US3278 a tonne while anhydrous milk fat fell 7% to $US5806 a tonne. Skim milk powder slipped 1.8% to $US1849 a tonne.
The total volumes sold dropped to 17,222 tonnes from 18,635 tonnes.
"Fonterra did release its February milk production data yesterday, which showed its collections were down 4% year on year," AgriHQ dairy analyst Amy Castleton says.
"This probably provided support to whole milk powder prices. Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was expected to hold relatively steady over the next few months, as demand has been steady and supply is limited, especially from New Zealand.
"There was less AMF sold at this event than at the previous event, though still 42% more than at the same event a year ago. AMF prices are now at about the same level they were a year ago."
Among other products, rennet casein jumped 12.1% to $US5668 a tonne, butter rose 4.1% to $US5494 a tonne, cheddar rose 2.2% to $US3679 a tonne, lactose was up 1.1% to $US549 a tonne and butter milk powder increased 1% to $US1988 a tonne.
There were 123 winning bidders out of 169 participants in the 16-round auction. The number of registered bidders was 514, an increase of one from the previous auction.
Nevil Gibson
Wed, 04 Apr 2018
Wed, 04 Apr 2018
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Dairy prices ease again in latest global auction
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