NZ commodity prices fall 0.9% in June

NZ commodity prices fall 0.9% in June, fourth straight drop, led by apples

By Jonathan Underhill

July 2 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand commodity prices fell for a fourth straight month in June, led by apples, logs, whole and skim milk powder.

The ANZ Commodity Price Index declined 0.9 percent last month and is now 6.7 percent below its February peak. Prices of apples declined 6 percent, reflecting the impact of the Northern Hemisphere export season, log prices fell 5 percent and whole and skim milk powder declined 3 percent.

Prices of pelts and butter dropped 2 percent while sawn timber and casein both fell about 0.25 percent.

The release of the monthly index comes after the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight, which saw dairy product prices fall to the lowest level since January 2013, paced by a drop in butter and anhydrous milk fat. The GDT price index fell 4.9 percent in the ninth slide in 10 auctions. Volume of product sold rose to 41,513 tonnes from 31,984 tonnes two weeks ago.

On the ANZ index, aluminium prices climbed 5 percent in June from May, while prices of kiwifruit and wool gained 3 percent, beef gained 2 percent and cheese and lamb both rose 0.5 percent. Seafood, wood pulp and venison were unchanged in the month.

The ANZ NZD Commodity Price Index, which shows the price movements in New Zealand dollars, fell 1.1 percent, as the kiwi strengthened over the month. The NZ dollar index is now 13.6 percent below its March 2011 peak.

(BusinessDesk)

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