Prices rose at the penultimate GlobalDairyTrade auction of 2022.
But not by much. The 0.6% gain at Tuesday’s event left prices still well adrift – by 31% – of the 14-year high reached in March.
Prices of whole milk powder, which accounts for most of the product traded at the auction, rose by only 0.1%, falling short even the cautious expectations of investors as indicated by the SGX NZX futures market.
Indeed, skim milk powder performed better, gaining 1.7% to reduce its discount against whole milk powder by more than $40 per tonne, to $298 per tonne.
Battle of the fats
Not this was all good news for skim milk powder producers, with the butter also typically made from the fat removed not in such high demand.
Butter prices dipped by 1.9% to $4,725 per tonne, a 16-month low.
Indeed, butter lost the battle of the fats by a distance. Anhydrous milk fat gained 1.8% to $5,797 per tonne, taking its premium over butter to a 14-month high of $1,072 per tonne.
Chedder was a firm performer too in adding 1.8%, to $4,826 per tonne, bouncing by 1.8% from the 13-month low reached in the previous auction.
