Dairy prices have fallen at Fonterra's latest global dairy auction.
The dairy cooperative's global dairy trade-weighted price Index fell 0.9% to an average selling price of $US3576 a metric tonne.
The price drop at the auction overnight on Tuesday is the third consecutive fall.
Prices slipped for almost all products, led by a 7.6% fall for milk protein concentrate.
In December, Fonterra lifted its forecast payout to between $6.90 and $7 a kilogram of milk solids for the current season, citing a modest improvement in dairy product prices at auction.
ANZ-National Bank rural economist Con Williams says prices may fall further if China's downgraded growth forecasts mean there's less demand for dairy.