Middle East demand cushions global dairy price drop at latest GDT auction
The upheaval in the Middle East may have eased the fall in global dairy prices last week.
Rural economist Nathan Penny said he was surprised that Fonterra maintained its milk price forecast at $6/kgMS last week.
Penny says all the seven main products that ASB monitors posted falls. Overall prices now stand 42.2% lower than a year ago
SMP, BMP and casein posted the biggest falls, dropping 9.5%, 12.9% and 14.3% respectively. Meanwhile, WMP fell 4.3% and the other products recorded falls in the 5% to 6% range.
Russian import ban may be putting more downward price pressure on products with strong European supply (e.g. SMP) relative to NZ-dominated products (WMP), he says.
Higher prices for later-dated contracts still hint at support for prices later in the season, but at the expense of short-term weakness.
