15.01.201723:15:00UTC+00New Zealand Food Prices Fall For Fourth Month

New Zealand's food prices declined for the fourth straight month in December, figures from Statistics New Zealand showed Monday.

Food prices dropped 0.8 percent month-over-month in December, faster than November's 0.1 percent slight decrease. On a seasonally adjusted basis, food prices fell 0.5 percent.

Lower food prices were seen across most food items in December. Prices of non-alcoholic beverages registered a decline of 3.1 percent and meat, poultry and fish prices slid by 1.5 percent.

At the same time, fruit and vegetable prices edged up 0.1 percent over the month.

However, food prices grew at a stable rate of 0.6 percent year-over-year in December, led by vegetables, milk and butter. It was the fifth month of increase in a row.