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While prices rose for butter (+1.6%), cheddar (+1.3%) and anhydrous milk fat (+3.7%), powders performed poorly. Skimmed milk powder (SMP) fell by 1.6% and whole milk powder (WMP) by 0.1%.
Butter and cheese seem to be on a steady upward curve. However, WMP, the main product traded in Oceania, is showing more volatility. It now appears to be settling under $3,300/t, well below the $3,500/t level sustained through November and December.
Fonterra had offered more than 13,000t of WMP for this week’s auction and the increased volume meant this auction was seen as a good barometer of market sentiment.
In Europe, a fresh round of bidding for the 20,000t of SMP released from intervention stocks is closing this Tuesday, with potential sales to be adjudicated later this week.
The latest GDT index comes as co-ops set their milk price for December, with processors so far announcing increases of up to 1.5c/l.
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