Food prices rise 0.3% as Kiwis pay more for fruit and veggies
Food prices gained 0.3% last month.
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New Zealand food prices rose in April from March as Kiwis paid more for vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers while enjoying cheaper prices for beef and chicken.
Food prices gained 0.3% last month, or 0.2% seasonally adjusted, for an annual gain of 0.5%, Statistics New Zealand said. The food price index recorded its first annual gain in seven months, the figures show.
Food prices make up almost 19% of the consumers price index, which has remained stubbornly below the Reserve Bank's 1%-to-3% target range since December 2014 and isn't forecast to return within the band until the fourth quarter of this year. Traders are betting the central bank will cut the official cash rate to a record low 2% at its June 9 monetary policy statement.
Fruit and vegetable prices rose 3.9% in April, following a 1.9% gain in March. Vegetable prices rose 6.3%, led by a 69% jump in tomato prices and a 46% increase for cucumbers. Fruit prices rose 1.1%, led by gains for avocados and strawberries.
Restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food rose 0.2% and grocery foods gained 0.1%, as a 4.2% rise in cheese prices was offset by lower prices for lollies. Meat, poultry, and fish prices fell 1.7%, as beef declined 3.9% and chicken fell 2.3%. Lamb rose 2.9%.
Non-alcoholic beverage prices fell 0.2% in the latest month, led by lower prices for energy drinks and bottled water.
(BusinessDesk)
Jonathan Underhill
Thu, 12 May 2016
Thu, 12 May 2016
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Food prices rise 0.3% as Kiwis pay more for fruit and veggies
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