After four consecutive declines, the GDT dairy index posted a positive result this week, with average dairy prices rising almost 3% to just under $3,415/t (€3,045/t).

With 25,000t of product sold at this week’s auction in New Zealand, average dairy prices were led higher by healthy gains across the product mix.

On the powder side, the price of whole milk powder (WMP), the most important commodity traded on the platform, jumped almost 4% close to $3,075/t (€2,740/t). This is the first lift in New Zealand WMP prices since early March. On the skimmed milk powder (SMP) side, prices also rose 4% this week above $2,500/t (€2,235/t).

On the fats side, the price of butter jumped 2% this week to $4,405/t (€3,930/t), while anhydrous milk fat also gained 2% in price to $5,525/t (€4,925/t). Cheddar prices lifted more than 3% to $3,870/t (€3,450/t).

Meanwhile, in Europe, the outlook for milk supply remains subdued in the EU’s two largest dairy-producing countries Germany and France.

In Germany, Europe’s largest dairy producer, milk production for May dropped 1.5% to just under 2.8bn litres. German milk production for the first five months of 2019 (Jan-May) stands at less than 13.3bn litres, which is almost 1% behind the same period last year.

In France, milk collections from dairy farms stood at 2.1bn litres for May, which is almost 2% down on the same month last year. French milk production for the first five months of 2019 now stands at 10.3bn litres, which is down 2% year on year.