By RNZ Digital reporters

Demand for proteins is helping milk prices hold steady.

The average price rose almost 0.1% at the Global Dairy Trade auction this week to US$3910 ($6639). It followed a 2.3% rise at the auction two weeks ago.

In a note, New Zealand Exchange head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado said it was a “more resilient result than the increase in seasonal supply might have suggested”.

“Milk powder demand remained firm, while milk fat declines were more contained than at the previous event,” she said.

“With deliveries moving further into the seasonal stockpiling window ahead of Christmas, Chinese New Year and the beginning of Ramadan, buying activity has held despite the normal increase in volumes offered during this period.”

She said the clearest signal from the event was continued strength in protein demand.

“Protein demand is providing price support despite higher powder availability, while fats remain under pressure and cheese faces a much heavier supply burden.

“The resilience of powders will remain important as Northern Hemisphere milk production responds to the effects of recent heatwaves and drought.”

Whole milk powder prices fell 0.1% to US$3585 ($6088). It came as Fonterra increased its offering on the previous event by almost 8%, suggesting that additional supply was absorbed “relatively comfortably rather than creating significant downward pressure”.

Skim milk powder also rose 5.3%, reaching a new 12-month high – this was despite volumes rising almost 10% from the previous auction, though they were still back on this time last year.

Meanwhile, milk fats remained softer, but declines were more moderate than expected, Alvarado said.

Butter fell 0.8% while cheddar was the “clear weak point”, falling 6.6% to US$3503 ($5949), its lowest price on the GDT platform in five years.

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz