Prices have risen for a fifth consecutive time at Fonterra's GlobalDairyTrade auction, driven by demand for milk fat products.
17 May 2017
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Dairy product prices have risen at Fonterra's GlobalDairyTrade auction, increasing for the fifth consecutive time amid solid demand for fat products.
The GDT price index gained 3.2 per cent from the previous auction two weeks ago and the average price was up to $US3313 ($NZ4809) per tonne.
Some 21,236 tonnes of product was sold, down from 22,633 tonnes at the previous auction.
Whole milk powder rose 1.3 per cent to $US3312 a tonne.
Butter jumped 11.2 per cent to $US5479 a tonne, while anhydrous milk fat rallied 8.2 per cent to $US6631 a tonne.
"The milk-fat products were the star performers," AgriHQ dairy analyst Susan Kilsby said in a note.
"Butter and anhydrous milk fat prices have generally been trending up all season and show no signs of slowing down.
"Strong demand for milk fat is attributed to many consumers in developed nations eating more natural foods rather than artificial or processed foods," she said.
Butter milk powder climbed 7 per cent to $US1980 a tonne.
"The world remains very short of milk fat products and New Zealand is the largest supplier of globally traded butter and anhydrous milk fat," Ms Kilsby said.
"As we head towards the end of our milk production season the volume of product that is available for sale falls away which is supportive of prices."
Lactose added 2 per cent to $US967 a tonne, skim milk powder gained 1 per cent to $US1998 a tonne, while cheddar rose 0.6 per cent to $US3726 a tonne.
Meanwhile, rennet casein fell 3.7 per cent to $US6259 a tonne.
The New Zealand dollar was little changed, at US68.83 cents in New York, following the auction.
There were 103 winning bidders out of 164 participating at the 19-round auction. The number of qualified bidders rose to 553, up from 548 at the previous auction.
