World dairy prices dip overnight (+graphic)

Photo / Mark Mitchell

World dairy prices have slipped overnight in the latest online dairy auction, with the benchmark GlobalDairyTrade TWI index down 0.9 per cent.

It breaks a run of price increases seen in the past four auctions.

Whole milk powder and butter milk powder were the only ones of the eight products traded to see price rises, up 2.8 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

Tthe price of skim milk powder fell 0.9 per cent to US$3,309 a tonne, milk protein concentrate declined 1.5 per cent to US$5,879 a tonne, and lactose sank 6.3 per cent to US$2,000 a tonne.

There were 139 winning bidders across 13 rounds, with 164 participating bidders out of 723 qualifying bidders.

Some 59,307 tonnes of product was sold for some US$194.8 million, making it the biggest auction since Fonterra set up the platform in 2008.

See more details of the auction here.

The ANZ Commodity Price Index yesterday showed New Zealand commodity prices rose for a second month in September, in the strongest monthly gain in a year-and-a-half, led by skim milk powder and aluminium.

The index was up 3.5 per cent last month, about 14 per cent weaker than the same month a year ago. Excluding dairy prices the index rose 0.5 per cent.

The largest increase was shared by skim milk powder and aluminium, both up 11 per cent, followed by butter and whole milk powder up 8 per cent, wool and apple prices gaining 6 per cent, cheese climbing 5 per cent, venison up 2 per cent and logs and beef rising 0.5 per cent.

The price of pelts bucked the trend falling 10 per cent, with casein and kiwifruit prices down 2 per cent. Lamb prices eased 1 per cent.

In New Zealand dollar terms, the commodity price index rose for the first month in nine, up 3 per cent.

-nzherald.co.nz/BusinessDesk