New Zealand consumer prices fell for the first time in two years as fuel slumped, giving Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler scope to keep borrowing costs on hold for an extended period, Bloomberg reported. The consumers price index fell 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, the first decline since the final quarter of 2012, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington Wednesday. The median forecast of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for no change. From a year ago, prices rose 0.8 percent. The Reserve Bank faces an extended period of inflation below the bottom of its 1 percent-to-3 percent target range.
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