Newsprint prices fall

NEW YORK — Several large paper suppliers have significantly rolled back their newsprint prices, a trend that could lead to important cost savings for newspaper publishers, industry officials said Friday.

The price rollbacks, which take effect Monday, essentially erase 5 percent hikes that kicked in on Jan. 1 and were announced last fall.

Newsprint is the second largest cost for publishers of daily newspapers, trailing only labor costs, says the American Newspaper Publishers Association, an industry group.

“This is a fairly substantial savings,” said Manuel Martinez, purchasing adminstrator for Knight-Ridder Inc. in Miami. “If it becomes a 5 percent decrease that’s a 5 percent savings.”