Wellington, May 6 NZPA - Fonterra's scheduled May internet auction of milkpowders has been postponed to May 12 because of technical difficulties.

Trading manager, CRA International, said a software problem arose during the first two rounds of trading in the early hours of today.

Fonterra's managing director of GlobalTrade, Kelvin Wickham, said the software issue could not be resolved quickly, so the sale was postponed.

The delay was not expected to have any effect on pricing in May trades on the internet platform.

There was extensive interest in the auction because international dairy prices have risen for two months in a row in the past tow auctions, after a lengthy period of decline.

Last month the average selling price for whole milkpowder rose 3.5 percent to $US2235 ($NZ3903) per tonne, following a 16.6 percent rise in early March.