Index of Commodity Prices June 2012

Preliminary estimates for June indicate that the index fell by 0.7 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after falling by 1.3 per cent in May (revised). The largest contributors to the fall in June were decreases in the prices of oil and thermal coal. The prices of base metals and most rural commodities also declined, however, the prices of coking coal and gold rose in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell by 1.7 per cent in June.

Over the past year, the index has fallen by 10.5 per cent in SDR terms. Much of this fall has been due to falls in the prices of coking coal and iron ore. The index has fallen by 9.9 per cent in Australian dollar terms over the past year.

As indicated in previous releases, preliminary estimates for iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal export prices are being used for recent months, based on market information.

For further details regarding the construction of the index, please refer to ‘Updating the RBA's Index of Commodity Prices’ in the October 2009 issue of the Bulletin.

Details are in the attached table and graph.