Prices for New Zealand's main commodities were largely flat in April as falls in dairy offset gains in other commodities, ANZ Bank's commodity price index showed on Thursday. The index eased 0.2 percent for the month, compared with a 0.4 percent rise in the previous month. On an annual basis, the index was 23.7 percent higher, compared with 23 percent growth the month before. Dairy prices were behind the stagnating index, falling 2.5 percent on the month, while non-dairy commodity prices rose 1.2 percent.
ANZ economists noted that globally, dairy prices have risen at four fortnightly auctions so the outlook for dairy was expected to pick up.