Fonterra's milkpowder prices fell for the fourth consecutive month at today's online auction.
The average selling price of all products dropped to $US3080 ($NZ4199) a tonne, triggering an 8.3% drop in Fonterra's global dairy trade index.
Prices have been falling since a 21-month high at the April auction, when the average price for whole milkpowder was $US3969/tonne, compared to today's $US2974.
At the previous auction in July, the weighted index for a basket of products at the auction fell 13.7%. It dropped 3.5% in June after falling 0.8% in May.
Today, whole milkpowder (WMP) prices dropped 7.7%, while skim milkpowder (SMP) recorded an 8.9% drop.
But the biggest drop, 13.2% for all products, was in the shortest term contracts, for October delivery.
Contracts to deliver over the three months from November -- the height of the southern hemisphere dairy season, fell 8.6%, and contracts for the three months from February fell only 1.7%.
The next auction will be on September 1, when the internet auctions will start being held twice a month.
At today's auction Fonterra added adding buttermilk powder (BMP), high-heat heat stable skim milkpowder (HHHS SMP) and anhydrous milkfat (AMF) in bulk bins to the products on offer.
