Global Dairy Trade climbs 1.3%

The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index, an indicator of market sentiment, increased by 1.3%, to average £2,855/t in the latest fortnightly auction (7 February).

The rise is its second consecutive increase, after an initial 3.9% fall in the first auction of the year due to larger volumes on offer, taking the index 65.2% above where it was 12 months ago.

See also:  Global dairy production at three-year low

The auctions two largest traded commodities, whole milk powder (WMP) and skimmed milk powder (SMP) both experienced increases, despite analysts predicting they would fall.

WMP increased by 1% to a weighted average of £2,575/t, while SMP made a minor gain of 0.1% to average £2,105/t.

Further gains were seen by butter, up 4.9%, anhydrous milk fat, up 4%, and lactose, up 12.4%, while buttermilk powder and cheddar took hits of -7.5% and -3.7% respectively.

Analysts are predicting prices will hold steady as global production remains down on last year’s levels and shows few signs of resurging to similar volumes despite improving farmgate prices.