Milk powder price down 1.6% in Fonterra's February auction; down 8.5% from December

Fonterra's February auction of whole milk powder (WMP) on its globalDairyTrade online platform produced an average price of US$3,256 a tonne, down 1.6% from January's average price and down 8.5% from its recent peak of US$3,560 reached in December. However it remains 78% above its low of US$1,829 in July last year. The average price for Anhydrous Milk Fat fell 7.9% to US$4,183 a tonne. Here is the rest of the Fonterra statement below:

Paul Grave, globalDairyTrade Manager, said the result was within the range of price movements expected in the current market environment and signalled that the market was in reasonable balance. "It is encouraging to see that prices remain relatively stable in a range that is high by historic standards," Mr Grave said. "This result is positive given that over the last month dairy prices have been under pressure in Europe and the US." For Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF), the average price achieved across all contracts and contract periods was US$4,183 per tonne FAS. This was US$356 per tonne, or 7.9%, lower than the January event. Overall pricing decreased 2.4% across both AMF and WMP. The next globalDairyTrade trading event will be held on March 2, 2010 and will include sales of Skim Milk Powder