The bounce in dairy markets continued this week, with spot prices and quotations continuing on the upward curve.

Spot prices for dairy products rose again this week, according to the European Milk Observatory, to 34.8c/litre, up from 34c/litre last week.

Many will argue that spot milk prices could be affected by processing capacity or short-term supply issues, but the general trend that has been established for the last number of weeks continues (see Netherlands graph).

The price of the various dairy commodities from the latest dairy quotations also shows improvement this week, albeit from a low base.

The lift in Oceania prices for butter, skim milk powder and whole milk powder has continued (see WMP graph).

In Oceania, quotes for butter has lifted from $3,638 to $3,850/t from early February to this week. The equivalent price for February 2014 was $4,713. Skim milk powder has lifted from $2,469 to $2,700 and whole milk powder has lifted from $2,650 to $3,200. Cheddar in Oceania stayed the same, at $3,700.

EU and US dairy quotations remained more or less the same compared with quotes from early February.