Index of Commodity Prices July 2012

Preliminary estimates for July indicate that the index rose by 1.3 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after rising by 0.3 per cent in June (revised). The largest contributors to the rise in July were increases in the prices of wheat and oil. Other rural commodities prices also increased, while prices of coking coal and thermal coal declined in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell by 2.4 per cent in July.

Over the past year, the index has fallen by 9.8 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 10.8 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.