Media Release Trade-weighted Index

The new weights for the trade-weighted index (TWI) of the Australian dollar have been compiled and are reported in the table below. These weights, which reflect the composition of Australia's two-way merchandise trade in 2007/08, will apply from 1 October 2008.

Weights in the Trade-weighted Index

Per cent

Currency	Trade Weight
	2008/09	2007/08
Chinese renminbi	16.3672	15.4486
Japanese yen	15.4040	15.4860
European euro	11.6517	12.1703
United States dollar	9.8797	10.7432
South Korean won	5.7786	5.9057
Singapore dollar	5.2102	4.5637
United Kingdom pound sterling	4.7535	4.1943
New Zealand dollar	4.6565	4.6553
Thai baht	3.8019	3.5465
Malaysian ringgit	3.2705	2.9989
Indian rupee	3.0844	3.5320
New Taiwan dollar	2.9903	3.2771
Indonesian rupiah	2.4053	2.7489
Vietnamese dong	1.9640	1.9032
United Arab Emirates dirham	1.5930	1.2801
Papua New Guinea kina	1.2341	1.1564
Hong Kong dollar	1.1934	1.3785
South African rand	1.1040	1.1496
Canadian dollar	1.0786	1.1892
Saudi Arabian riyal	0.8916	0.9166
Swiss franc	0.8685	0.9401
Swedish krona	0.8190	0.8158

The number and composition of the 22 currencies included in the index are unchanged from the previous year. These currencies account for 93.2 per cent of Australia's two-way merchandise trade.

The weight of the Chinese renminbi is now the highest in the index, having increased by 1 percentage point from last year and by 10 percentage points since 2000/01. The Japanese yen, which had received the highest weight since 1983/84, is now ranked second, though its weight is broadly unchanged from last year. The weight on the euro fell by ½ a percentage point and the weight on the US dollar fell by ¾ of a percentage point from last year.

The combined weight of the Asian-Pacific currencies, excluding Japan, increased to 52.0 per cent while the combined weights of the North American and European currencies fell to 11.0 per cent and 18.1 per cent. These declines reflect a large increase in the value of two-way trade with the Asia-Pacific region, in particular with China, rather than a decline in the value of two-way trade with Europe and North America.