With no Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction this week, the only market indicators available to us is from the spot market analysis.

The better news continues with week with further price gains in powders, with whole milk powder (WMP) increasing by €105/t and skim milk powder (SMP) increasing by €70/t.

These rises follow on from similar gains last week and the market price is similar now to what it was in early July, gaining ground lost to the negativity in July and August.

The rises follow similar gains at the last GDT when WMP increased by 4.6% and SMP increased by 5.4%.

However, there was less positivity in the European spot market this week for butter and cheese, with butter dropping by €15/t and no change in the price of cheddar.

Butter prices in the US continue to command a premium over anywhere else and they are also continuing to rise, gaining 3.2% in the last week according to the EU milk market observatory.

Milk supply statistics from the EU continue to be a mixed bag, with big hitters Germany up 2.6% and France down 2.3% year to date when July milk is taken into account.

The Netherlands continues to defy expectations with supply there up 2.9% on this time last year. Meanwhile, production in Ireland is back 0.8% with no statistics published for August yet.

In New Zealand, the new season has got off to a slow start, with milk supply for August back 2.1% compared with last year. Farmers there are grappling with a lower than expected pay-out from Fonterra.