A slump in the price of whole milk powder, New Zealand’s key dairy export, is likely to continue according to traders who are pricing in further declines on the NZX futures market. The price for whole milk powder dropped 13.1 percent to an average US$1,848 a tonne at the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction overnight on Wednesday as many of the monthly contracts failed …

Steel & Tube Holdings rose after the country’s biggest steel distribution company said it’s agreed to buy fastener distributor Manufacturing Suppliers for $32 million in a cash and scrip deal. The Petone-based company will pay $26 million in cash and $6 million in shares for Auckland-based MSL, which is best known for its Fortress Fasteners brand, which Steel & Tube will …

New Zealand wool prices rose at the latest auction as a decline in the local currency made it more attractive for overseas buyers. The price for clean 35-micron wool, a benchmark for crossbred wool used for carpets and accounting for the majority of New Zealand’s production, rose to $5.90 per kilogram at yesterday’s South Island auction, from $5.75/kg in last week’s …