Dairy prices snap 3-month slide in overnight auction

Dairy product prices are expected to be volatile. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Prices of dairy products snapped a three-month slide in Fonterra's latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, lifting the average winning price from the lowest level since August.

The GDT-TWI Price Index rose 1.5 per cent compared to the last sale two weeks ago. The average winning price gained to US$3,277 a metric tonne. Rennet casein and cheddar were the biggest gainers while whole and skim milk powder fell.

See the full results of last night's auction here.

The sale is the first since Fonterra last week posted an 18 per cent gain in first-half profit on increased sales and higher prices from its ingredients business. Chairman Henry van der Heyden said prices have remained "relatively stable" though they were off their highs of last year.

The average winning price for whole milk powder fell 2.8 per cent to US$3,227 a metric tonne and skim milk powder fell 0.8 per cent to US$3,078 a tonne.

Anhydrous milk fat rose 8.3 per cent to US$3,583 a tonne. Butter milk powder wasn't offered at this week's sale.

Cheddar rose 13.2 per cent to US$3,371 a tonne and milk protein concentrate gained 13.1 per cent to US4,705 a tonne. Rennet casein gained 13.8 per cent to US$7,290 a tonne.

There were 104 winning bidders over 13 rounds, out of 139 participating bidders. The number of qualified bidders rose to 603 from 592.