Index of Commodity Prices September 2012

Preliminary estimates for September indicate that the index fell by 1.3 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after falling by 2.8 per cent in August (revised). The largest contributors to the fall in September were declines in the prices of iron ore, coal and oil, which were partly offset by increases in the prices of gold and aluminium. The prices of rural commodities also declined. In Australian dollar terms, the index rose by 0.9 per cent in September.

Over the past year, the index has fallen by 14.9 per cent in SDR terms. Much of this fall has been due to declines in the prices of iron ore and coking coal. The index has fallen by 18.5 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.