Market Commentary and Intraday News

New Zealand September Food Prices Dip 0.9%

225 days ago

(RTTNews) - Food prices in New Zealand were down 0.9 percent on month in September, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday - matching forecasts following the 0.1 percent increase in August.

Three of the five subgroups contributed to the fall in the food price index: grocery food (down 1.6 percent), fruit and vegetables (down 2.2 percent), and non-alcoholic beverages (down 0.5 percent).

"Food prices fell in September, reflecting cheaper grocery food prices. Grocery food prices are now nearly 3 percent cheaper than three months ago in June," prices manager Chris Pike said.

The most significant individual fall in September came from seasonally lower prices for capsicums (down 32 percent). With the arrival of new season stock, the average price of capsicums fell from a high of $22.28 per kilogram in August 2012 to $15.05 per kilogram in September 2012. Prices were also lower for plain biscuits (down 18 percent), cucumber (down 33 percent), sweets (down 12 percent), strawberries (down 20 percent), and lettuce (down 12 percent).

Broccoli prices doubled in September, caused by an early spring shortage. Chocolate biscuits (up 15 percent), porterhouse/sirloin beef steak (up 6.0 percent), and pumpkin (up 62 percent) also made significant upward contributions.

On a yearly basis, food prices were down 0.3 percent after shedding 0.5 percent in the previous month and falling for the fifth straight month.

Three of the five subgroups made downward contributions to the FPI: grocery food (down 3.5 percent), non-alcoholic beverages (down 1.3 percent), and meat, poultry, and fish (down 0.8 percent).

Prices decreased for fresh milk (down 9.2 percent), butter (down 30 percent), cheddar cheese (down 15 percent), and lettuce (down 20 percent). Higher prices were recorded for tomatoes (up 69 percent from $7.23 to $12.26 per kilogram), kumara (up 90 percent), broccoli (up 36 percent), and chicken pieces (up 5.0 percent).

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