World food prices fall 1.3 percent in June: U.N. FAO

ROME (Reuters) - World food prices fell in June from the month before, led by decreases in maize and wheat quotations, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 173.7 points last month, down 1.3 percent from May.

"Most markets have generally taken-on a weaker tone recently largely because of rising tensions in international trade relations," FAO said in a statement.

FAO said global cereals output in 2018 was seen at 2.586 billion tonnes, down 64.5 million tonnes, or 2.4 percent, from 2017's record production level.

"The year-on-year decrease mostly reflects anticipated reduced maize output," FAO said.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Crispian Balmer)