Milk prices dip in GDT auction

Prices at Fonterra's fortnightly GlobalDairyTrade auction have dipped slightly. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Dairy product prices eased at the Global Dairy Trade auction, halting four straight increases, as whole milk powder declined.

The GDT price index fell 0.5 per cent from the previous auction two weeks ago to US$3,656. Some 22,321 tonnes of product was sold, down from 22,472 tonnes at the previous auction.

"This slightly negative GDT result will have minimal impact on the farmgate milk price," AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby said in a note, adding that the result is "certainly still strong enough" to support the $6 per kilogram of milk solids price currently forecast by Fonterra.

Whole milk powder fell 0.8 per cent to US$3,568 a tonne.

Fonterra last week said it lifted the amount of whole milk powder on offer for this auction.

"There was not quite enough demand to soak up the additional product offered," Kilsby noted.

At the latest GDT auction, anhydrous milk fat dropped 2.3 per cent to US$5,367 a tonne, while lactose fell 1.6 per cent to US$857 a tonne.

Meanwhile, rennet casein gained 3.3 per cent to US$6,473 a tonne, while butter milk powder increased 3.1 per cent to US$2,874 a tonne.

Cheddar rose 1.9 per cent to US$3,826 a tonne, while butter advanced 0.5 per cent to US$4,290 a tonne.

Skim milk powder held steady at US$2,621 a tonne.

The New Zealand dollar last traded at 69.21 US cents at about 12.17pm in New York, compared with 69.29 US cents at 5pm in Wellington the previous day.

There were 123 winning bidders out of 168 participating at the 13-round auction. The number of qualified bidders rose to 520, up from 516 at the previous auction.