Index of Commodity Prices November 2015

Preliminary estimates for November indicate that the index fell by 2.9 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after falling by 0.6 per cent in October (revised). Declines in the prices of iron ore and gold were partly offset by higher rural prices. The base metals subindex fell in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell by 3.9 per cent in November.

Over the past year, the index has fallen by 22.0 per cent in SDR terms, led by declines in the prices of bulk commodities. The index has fallen by 11.1 per cent in Australian dollar terms over the past year.

Consistent with previous releases, preliminary estimates for iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal export prices are being used for the most recent months, based on market information. Using spot prices for these commodities, the index fell by 4.3 per cent in November in SDR terms, to be 23.4 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 and ‘Weights for the Index of Commodity Prices’ (April 2015).