GDT: Prices up again in latest auction with 0.5% increase

This is the second GDT increase since prices plunged 6.9% at the beginning of July. Photo / DairyNZ

Prices have continued to climb in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction, held overnight, with a 0.5% increase across the board.

This is the second increase since prices plunged 6.9% at the beginning of July and the fifth event of the new dairy season.

It builds on the previous auction where prices lifted 0.4% across the board.

Whole milk powder - which has the biggest impact on Fonterra’s farmgate milk price - recorded a 2.4% lift, to an average of US$3259/MT, welcome news after the 1.6% fall at the last event.

Skim milk powder - Fonterra’s second-biggest reference product – dropped 2.7%, to an average of US$2539/MT, continuing its slide from the last auction where it dipped 1.1%.

Cheddar was up 1.3%, to an average of US$4275/MT, with anhydrous milk fat not far behind on a 1.2% boost to an average of US$6912/MT.

Butter milk powder rose 3.4% to an average of US$2756/MT, while butter took a bit of a tumble, dropping 2.4% to an average of US$6489/MT.

Mozzarella shone with an impressive 8.4% leap to an average of US$4580/MT.

However, lactose was the star of the show with a whopping 16.1% jump, to an average of US$928/MT.

A total of 35,965 MT of product was purchased by 133 successful bidders, compared to 22,954 MT and 118 winning bidders last time.

On May 29, Fonterra announced an opening farmgate milk price for the new 2024-2025 season with a range of $7.25 per kgMS - $8.75 per kgMS and a midpoint of $8.

Fonterra also narrowed its 2023-2024 season forecast to between $7.70 to $7.90 per kgMS, leaving the midpoint unchanged at $7.80.