For whole milk powder (WMP), prices for the futures contracts dated between February and August all decreased, by between US$10/t and US$110/t.
For other products, it was the later dated contracts that had price declines. Skim milk powder (SMP) futures contracts for June, August and October declined. For anhydrous milkfat (AMF), the April, May and June futures contracts declined in price. For butter, the June futures contract decline, though the prices for the April and May futures contracts increased a little (US$50/t and US$30/t respectively).
For WMP and SMP futures, this has resulted in a very flat forward curve, at least until June. WMP futures are trading at US$2040/ for the February contract and US$2200/t for the June contract. SMP futures are trading at US$1800/t for the February contract and at US$1845/t for the June contract. Butter futures are similarly flat, trading from US$3200/t to US$3300/t.
AMF currently has the near-dated contracts trading at a premium to the later dated contracts. February and March contracts are trading at US$3650/t and US$3720/t before dropping to US$3550/t in April.
There were a total of 14 trades on Friday. Seven of the futures trades were for WMP, with the remainder being for SMP and butter. For two of the butter trades, 100t changed hands. There was also a WMP put option traded, which provides the right to sell 100t of WMP at a strike price of US$2100/t. The trade was priced at US$100/t.
