- GDT auction in February 2024: +0.5%
The second February 2024 auction of Global Dairy Trade (GDT) partially continued the price increase of the previous auctions with an average of +0.5%. This time, a significant share of this is made up of pure butter fat with above-average markups. At 23,306 t, the auction volume continues to decline as is usual for the season. Whole milk powder (VMP) (around 50% auction share) gives back half of the price gains in the previous auction at -1.8%. The price reductions take place in all delivery months. The focus is on the front months. China, as the main buyer, is holding back. However, the VMP price level of $3,388/t is still within the 5-year average. Skimmed milk powder (SMP) (around 25%) continued the positive result of the preliminary auction to a smaller extent at +1.3%. The absolute MMP prices reach $2,788/t and are well above the Chicago quotes of $2,665/t and EEX prices of $2,673/t. Pure butter fat courses (approx. Share 10%) have achieved a catch-up demand compared to normal butter with an average of +8.6%. The range is from +6.7% in Apr-24 to +11.1% in Jul-24. After previous high increases, normal butter (around 8%) has stabilized at a high level with an average of +0.1%. At $6,526/t, the absolute butter price is above the 5-year average. EEX Leipzig is equivalent to $6,048/t and Chicago prices are around $6,141/t. The average auction result remains above the 10-year average.
