Dairy prices fall yet again in latest GDT auction, led by WMP

Dairy prices have fallen for a fourth consecutive time in the latest global dairy trade (GDT) auction, with a 1 per cent dip in the overall index.

Whole milk powder prices - the biggest influencer on Fonterra's farmgate milk price - led the downwards slide, falling a further 2 per cent to US$2884 a tonne.

The second biggest "reference" product for Fonterra - skim milk powder - backed up a 1.1 per cent rise in the previous auction on August 18, with a 1.8 per cent increase to an average US$2663 a tonne.

The biggest increase came from butter milk powder, with a 3.9 per cent jump to US$2356/MT, and lactose also rose 0.8 per cent to US$1314/MT.

Prices for all other main commodity groups decreased. Butter fell 1.2 per cent to US$3334/tonne, anhydrous milk fat slid 0.5 per cent to US$3852 a tonne, and cheddar dropped by 0.4 per cent to US$3,428/tonne.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Fonterra's Mike Cronin about the GDT result on The Country below:

A total of 35,656MT of product was sold, attracting 166 bidders over 19 rounds.

In a market update on July 17, Fonterra lowered the midpoint for the 2019/20 season by five cents to a range of $7.10 and $7.20. The co-op also narrowed its forecast for the 2020/21 season to between $5.90 to $6.90 per kg.