That boosted the GDT price index 3.6% to an average price of US$3166.
WMP futures contracts for July delivery closed yesterday at US$3300 a tonne, indicating a 2.8% rise could be expected but it added US$200/t to record a 6.2% boost.
There were also fears the 10% lift in New Zealand's March milk supply might dampen buyers’ appetite but demand was robust.
The number of bidders was fewer than at the previous auction and the number of winning bidders fell from 130 to 106 but the auction extended to 15 rounds, indicating strong competition among those who were there to buy with strong participation by buyers from north Asia.
A lack of profitability in China's dairy farming sector had limited expansion of some farming operations and was expected to have some impact on its domestic milk supply.
Skim milk powder was the only product with a price fall overnight.
SMP prices remained under pressure because of the massive stocks built up in Europe.
The SMP offered by Fonterra from both NZ and Australia achieved a small premium over equivalent product offered by European dairy company Arla Foods.
Milk fat products again performed well with gains recorded in the price of both butter and anhydrous milk fat (AMF).
The butter index lifted 1.1% while that for AMF shot up 4.7%.
NZ supplied most of the AMF traded on global markets. Now the milk production season is winding down supply would remain tight until NZ's new dairy season began.
Cheese bucked international trends by lifting in price. The cheddar index lifted 4.6%. Big stocks of cheese had put pressure on prices elsewhere in the world. In the United States market cheese was priced about 13% lower than was achieved on the GDT overnight.
Full result:
AMF +4.7%, US$6185, butter 1.1%, US$4911, butter milk powder +21.8%, US$1859, cheddar +P4.6%, US$ 3666, lactose +1.1%, US$941, rennet casein 10.4%, US$6775, SMP -0.9%, US$1982, WMP +5.2%, US$3233.
