GDT Auction of May 21, 2019: negative for the first time since Dec. 2018 The series of positive auction results since December 2018 of the biweekly Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auctions has come to an end with the recent slump of -1.2%. The comparatively small auction volumes of only 15,510 t could not develop a price-stabilizing effect. A major contribution to the result is the weak butter prices as well as the repeated falls in whole milk powder prices. Whole milk powder prices were revised downwards for the third time in succession. Meanwhile, the VMP courses have lost more than 10%. Demand, especially from China, remains low. However, the weak results of the early delivery months did not continue in the same way in the later delivery months. The reason for this is the particularly weak performance in the two pre-auctions. The skimmed milk powder prices (MMP) show an upwards trend of an average of +0.5%, albeit still at a low level.While the first months were still in the slight negative range, the back delivery months prove a repeated firm positioning. Overall, the MMP price is rising from the previous low-price phase. Butterfins prices seem to have reached a certain highpoint with -1.4% on average for the time being. Noticeable is the unusually high premium of + 14.4% in the month of Jun.19. Obviously, there was still an urgent need to fill. However, the following delivery dates remain in the negative range. Demand from the Asian region is decisive in this case. After the high increases in the two pre-auctions , normal butter was no longer able to maintain the high price level. The discount is on average -3.2%. Striking are the reductions of the first two delivery months with -4.2%. Overall, average butter prices are close to the peak levels of recent years. For the milk prices in the northern hemisphere, the GDT results provide an orientation for global market and price developments.However, the imminent fall in deliveries here in Germany leads to stable to slightly rising milk prices.
