Dairy prices bounced back slightly in the latest Global Dairy Trade auction overnight.
Average prices in the auction rose 1.8 percent to US$3157 metric tonne (MT).
The slight increase followed a 2 percent fall in the previous auction two weeks ago.
Whole milk powder, the most important commodity for New Zealand farmers, rose 1.8 percent to US$3037/MT. Skim milk powder was up 2.5 percent to US$2799/MT, butter rose 0.4 percent to US$3838/MT and anhydrous milk fat increased 4.1 percent to US$4175/MT.
Prices for lactose plummeted, down 18.8 percent to US$887/MT, while cheddar fell 3.5 percent to US$3641/MT.
A total of 35,303 metric tonnes was sold at the auction.
ASB economist Nat Keall said prices moved less dramatically than earlier in the year and were "broadly in line with what we've seen at other recent auctions".
In ASB's weekly commodities report Keall described the rise as "modest", and said the results suggested a "more settled market than we had earlier in the year, when sharp falls and steep lifts were the order of the day and COVID-driven uncertainty was at its peak".
