GDT event #344 yielded a flat index but the weight of the small gains in WMP drove that outcome to offset weaker NZ SMP prices and an ugly result in cheddar.

SMP dropped 3.7% on average to US$2,622/t but the detail within that result wasn’t great for Oceania product, as NZ medium heat C2 lost 5.4% to US$2,545/t (prior to the event SGX futures were reading US$350/t more than that!) while EU-origin product sold by Arla Foods lifted more than 6% to US$2,825/t.

WMP edged 2% higher with persistent Chinese demand for half the offer volumes, while Middle East buyers took the largest tonnage in more than a decade.

Fats were mixed with butter weaker by 1% (averaging US$4,833/t) and AMF stronger by the same % which further narrowed the discount for AMF. There was again demand for AMF across regions with the Middle East taking most while Latam buyers also weighed in. Butter was near US$650/t below the thinly-traded SGX futures, while AMF US$400/t below futures.

The carnage this time came in cheddar, with a 10% fall to US$3,637/t in the average price achieved, while the C2 price dropped almost 15% to be near the US spot price for 40lb blocks.