The Global Dairy Trade (GDT) index has seen its first increase since December after the latest trading event today (Tuesday, February 7).
Today’s auction – event 325 – saw an increase of 3.2%, the first increase since December 6.
The average price today stood at $3,456/MT.
116 winning bidders emerged from 166 participating, through 21 bidding rounds over two hours and 49 minutes.
Overall, 32,582MT of product was sold.
The index figure now stands at 1,076, which reflects typical values stretching over the last seven years.
This figure is a fall from the 10-year high experienced on March 1, last year, when the index stood at 1,593.
GDT sub-indices
Looking at the GDT sub-indices for various products, all but one of the products that were offered at today’s event, and for which data was available, recorded increases.
The largest boost was for butter, the sub-index for which climbed by 6.6% for an average price of $4,745/MT.
Anhydrous milk fat (AMF) also turned in a solid showing, increasing by 4.8% for an average price of $5,586/MT.
The next highest increase was for whole milk powder (WMP), which increased by 3.8%, reflecting an average price of $3,329/MT.
The cheddar sub-index increased by 2.3% for an average price of $4,980/MT, while butter milk powder saw a rise of 2% for an average price of $2,633/MT.
Skim milk powder (SMP) was the only product to break the trend, recording no significant percentage change in sub-index, and recording an average price of $2,829/MT.
No data was available for lactose, while sweet whey powder (SWP), as usual, was not offered.
The GDT trading events auction service is a price discovery platform for globally traded dairy products. Buyers and sellers from some 60 countries participate.
Between $2 billion and $3 billion in dairy products are traded annually through the GDT events.
Last month, the GDT announced that it had appointed Charlie Hyland as the independent chair of its board of directors.
Hyland, who is the head of dairy and food for Europe, the Middle-East and Africa (EMEA) with StoneX Financial Group, commenced his new role on February 1.