In trying to make sense of what can only be market manipulation, someone somewhere in Holland has bought a truck of whey, and a market is made, €50 higher. Yep, a 7% increase in a week, sweet whey is up €50 to €740. Looking at the graph below and the traders’ bible above, it would appear that the buy-to-store tactic is starting to take effect.

But, there is still lashings of whey on the market, not the usual dearth of offers the moment the trade sniffs a genuine hike, and that’s what I cannot understand. If I’m right for once, this rally should be short-lived, as traders sell forward into the hike and buy back in when the ensuing slide is engineered. On the other hand, the traditional return to work and the attendant rally could run further into the autumn than my crystal ball predicts.

Skim milk is more muted, but still put on 2.5%, up €60 to €2400. Again, there is no shortage of material being offered, so the rise is not visibly supported.

One market that has genuinely leapt on its own fundamentals is coconut oil, up a good €100 over the week. 

Soya has taken a breather this week, or at least stopped going down, but the surprise is palm oil, bucking the soft oil trend and increasing 4% on the back of minimal reduction in stocks, probably fuelled (excuse the pun) by the bonkers plan by Indonesia to mix 40% palm oil into domestic biodiesel next year, good luck with that, guys.  

BDC agri is the UK broker for Lacto Production milk and whey powder products.

For further information and prices, contact Greg Dunn on 01206 381521 or g.dunn@blackdiamondcommodities.com