Although New Zealand's commodities returned similar prices in June to May on an overall basis, the stregthening currency means that in NZ$ terms, returns from our commodities were 5% less in June than May, according to the ANZ Commodity Price Index. The ANZ Commodity Price Index recorded a modest rise in June in world price terms, increasing 0.2 percent from a month earlier. While only small, the latest increase represents the fourth consecutive monthly rise in the series, said ANZ. The latest rise was fairly broad-based with prices for eight of our key exports recording a lift in the month of June and five commodities recorded price declines. The sector taking the hardest hit in NZ$ terms was seafood, which was down 8.5% in the latest month, and taking returns back to below their level a year ago. Seafood prices have retrenched dramatically since their high in November 2008. On the other hand, forestry prices are recovering, but remain very low. The NZ dollar strengthened against all our major trading partners in the month of June. Consequently, the ANZ New Zealand Dollar Commodity Price Index posted a 5.0 percent decline in June, the largest monthly fall in six months "“ taking the series back down to a 2½-year low.
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