The positive result of the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) this week further underpins dairy commodity markets.

It is the second lift in a row, which brought an end to the recent negative run of auction results.

The average price increased by 2% to $4,072 per tonne. Whole milk powder (WMP) stands out with a positive lift of 3.7% to $3,733 per tonne.

This price increase is striking, given that the milk powder market has been under pressure in recent weeks.

Peak supply

Remember, New Zealand milk supply is peaking around now as European supply is on a seasonal decline.

The European markets are, of course, much higher than the New Zealand market at the moment, so some gain can be explained.

Skim milk powder (SMP) is still under pressure and fell 0.7% to reach $3,547 per tonne.

Cheddar is up 2.1% at $5,147 per tonne, while butter held steady.

What exactly we can take from this second positive result is not clear.

The price imbalance explains some of lift in WMP.

US milk supply up

For the first time this year, US milk production is showing serious growth figures.

The numbers show that in August, US dairy farmers produced almost 8 billion litres, up 1.7% from the same period last year. The big growth comes mainly from large dairy states such as California, Idaho and New York.