The wild week of dairy trading in the U.S. did not spill over into world markets, though cheese and butter prices strengthened to levels not seen since the beginning of the year. Results of the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction this morning show aggregate prices of dairy commodities virtually unchanged from the June 1 auction.

Prices this week averaged $2,339, up just $10/metric ton from the last auction. Five of the eight commodities traded did show price strength, but whole milk powder declined 4.5%, pulling the aggregate average down to zero.

Butter jumped 5.3% to $1.32/lb. Cheddar cheese climbed 6.9% to $1.31, and skim milk powder was up 1.5% to 86¢/lb. In contrast, U.S. prices were considerably stronger for butter ($2.27/lb) and barrel cheddar ($1.54/lb). U.S. skim milk prices are just a penny lower, at 85¢/lb. than world prices.

Volume traded was must 23,089 metric tons, lower than two weeks ago, but higher than all auctions since mid February.

By: Jim Dickrell
Source: Agweb.com