WELLINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Prices for New Zealand's main commodities slumped 2.2 percent in December, the largest decline in two years, ANZ Bank's commodity price index showed on Wednesday.
The fall was led by prices for dairy, which dropped 5.6 percent. Non-dairy commodities also struggled, slipping 0.4 percent.
The monthly fall was the third in a row and the largest since commodity prices began an upward cycle in early 2016, according to ANZ economists.
"Combined with the recent surge in oil prices, such dynamics will temper New Zealand's terms of trade outlook over the first half of 2018," said Con Williams, agri-economist at ANZ Bank in a note accompanying the release.
On an annual basis the index was up 3 percent, slowing from a 6 percent rise the month before.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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