Dairy prices hit speed bump

For the first time in 18 months, New Zealand's dairy prices have lost their upward momentum.

The ANZ world commodity price index was unchanged in December, although it was up 30% for the year.

Dairy prices were down 1.8 per cent for the month, as other dairy producing countries look to cash in on historically high prices.

It was the first monthly decline in dairy since August 2006.