Fonterra prices lift in internet auction

Bidding in Fonterra's latest monthly online auction of whole milkpowder early today lifted the average price paid by 5.7 per cent to US$3022/tonne ($4186/tonne).

The price paid at the Globaldairytrade auction had previously jumped 50 per cent in two months.

In the first contract period, for December delivery, the per-tonne prices set for regular powder were US$3050 (from New Zealand ports) and US$2825 (from Australian ports), while instant powder rose to US$3100 (NZ) and US$2875, and UHT powder hit US$3125 (NZ).

The average price for December delivery rose 5.1 per cent to US$3019.

January-March 2010, prices lifted 5.7 per cent to US$3008/tonne, and for April to June, it rose 6.7 per cent again to US$3052.

Fonterra started auctioning whole milk powder in July last year.

According to the ANZ bank's commodity price index, world prices for a basket of most of New Zealand's export commodities soared 6.8 per cent last month, its steepest rise in 22 years, but the higher kiwi dollar swallowed two-thirds of the increase.

The latest jump in that index left it 20 per cent above its low last February, in world price terms.

The improvement was broad-based, with eight of the 13 commodities in the index posting gains, but strongest in dairy products, which make up 40 per cent of the trade-weighted basket.

Dairy prices jumped 17 per cent and in the 24-year history of the index have only been higher than this between January 2007 and November last year.

The ANZ index uses US Department of Agriculture data for dairy prices, which have tended to lag behind those achieved in Fonterra's online auctions.

"Logic would suggest that after such a sharp movement higher in global dairy prices (there) could be a pull-back this month," the bank said.

But it noted that local stocks of dairy products had been run down aggressively, which made it more likely increases in export would have to be met from production. There are biological constraints on how quickly dairy production can increase.

- NZPA