ROME - The United Nations world food price index held steady in June according to data released on Friday, with increases in the indices for vegetable oil, sugar and dairy products balanced out by a fall in the price of cereals.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.6 points in June, unchanged from May. The May reading was revised after initially being given as 120.4.

Prior to June, the FAO index had risen for three consecutive months after hitting a three-year low in February as food prices receded from a record peak set in March 2022, following Russia's invasion of fellow crop export major Ukraine.

The June value was 2.5% down on its level one year ago and 24.8% below its 2022 high point.

In a separate report, FAO raised its forecast for global cereal production in 2024 by 7.9 million tonnes (+0.3%), putting it at 2.854 billion tonnes, up fractionally from 2023 levels and marking a new all-time high forecast.

  - Reuters