New Zealand’s food prices decreased for the fifth consecutive month in December, driven by lower prices of meat, poultry fish and non-alcoholic beverages, figures from Statistics New Zealand showed Friday
Food prices fell 0.8 percent month-over-month in December, following a 0.2 percent drop in the previous month. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, food prices slid 0.5 percent.
Meat, poultry and fish prices dipped 2.7 percent in December, reflecting lower prices for chicken that declined 6.2 percent from November. Non-alcoholic beverage prices were down 3.4 percent.
On an annual basis, food prices declined 1.3 percent, dragged down by lower prices of grocery foods. Moreover, this was the largest annual fall since July 2012.
Priced for grocery food slipped 3.0 percent in December from a year ago.
Meat, poultry, and fish prices decreased 3.8 percent over the year, led by lower prices for chicken. Chicken prices are now at their lowest level since January 2008, the agency said.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com