November 17, 2011

Fonterra dairy product prices increase 2.6% in recent auction  

Fonterra has seen its biggest increase since June 1 when its dairy product prices rose 2.6% in the recent auction.

Average prices of dairy products had their biggest gain since June 1 in Fonterra Cooperative Group's latest auction amid signs of investors becoming more optimistic about the outlook for commodities.

The GDT-TWI Price Index rose 2.6% percent, according to the latest results posted on the globalDairyTrade auction website. The average winning price rose to US$3,617 a tonne. Six of the seven products on offer rose in the latest sale.

Whole milk powder rose 2.4% to US$3,574 a tonne in the latest sale while skim milk powder gained 1.7% to US$3,354. Anhydrous milk fat climbed 8% to US$3,571 a tonne and milk protein concentrate gained 11.3% to US$6,247 a tonne.

Rennet casein fell 9.7% to US$8,420 a tonne. Butter milk powder rose 3.6% to US$3,039 a tonne and cheddar rose 3.7% to US$3,518 a tonne.

There were 123 winning bidders from 166 participants over 13 rounds. The platform has 482 qualified bidders, up from 463 at the last auction.