Index of Commodity Prices October 2013

Preliminary estimates for October indicate that the index fell by 1 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after rising by 1.3 per cent in September (revised). The largest contributors to the fall in October were the declines in the prices of iron ore, gold and crude oil, while the base metals and the rural subindices increased in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell by 2.4 per cent in October.

Over the past year, the index has fallen by 1 per cent in SDR terms. The prices of gold, coking coal and thermal coal have fallen over this period, while the price of iron ore has risen. The index has increased by 7 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. Using spot prices for these commodities, the index declined by 1.4 per cent in October in SDR terms, to be 0.3 per cent lower over the past year.

For further details regarding the construction of the index, please refer to ‘Changes to the RBA Index of Commodity Prices: 2013’ in the March 2013 issue of the Bulletin.