Inside Milk
Global Dairy Trade declines less sharply
After a period of somewhat weaker dairy quotations, the international dairy market appears to be stabilizing somewhat at a historically high level. On today's Global Dairy Trade (August 3), this is reflected in only slightly declining prices, although differences in the product groups were visible.
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However, significant differences were visible in the product groups. The result of today's auction is slightly weaker than previously expected. Price increases occurred for skimmed milk powder and butter. A sharp decline was noted for buttermilk powder. The average price on the 289e GDT auction comes in at $3.784, which is 1% lower than the July 20 auction.
Sentiment stabilizes
The positive sentiment on the dairy markets this spring (particularly due to significant demand from China) led to increased global supply in the following months. This slowly but surely pushed prices down at the most recent auctions. The dairy market as a whole appears to be post-8e consecutive declines now reasonably in balance. Analysts indicate that whether China continues its high import volumes will be decisive for price formation in the coming months.
The biggest winner at the auction today was butter, which is now listed at $4.589. That is an increase of 3,8% compared to the previous auction. In addition, skimmed milk powder (SMK) was also in good demand with a plus of 1,5% to a level of $3.020. Relatively modest increases were seen for butter concentrate (AMF) and Cheddar. These rose to $5.668 and $4.065 respectively, increases of 1,3% and 0,7%.
The biggest decliner was buttermilk powder, which lost 8,0% in value. The product is now trading at $3.246. Whole milk powder (WMP) also fell significantly in price to $3.598, a minus of 3,8%. Lactose lost 3,1% to $1.094.