Index of Commodity Prices June 2014

Preliminary estimates for June indicate that the index declined by 1.8 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after declining by 1.8 per cent in May (revised). The largest contributor to the fall in June was the decline in the price of iron ore. The base metals subindex rose in the month while the rural commodities subindex declined. In Australian dollar terms, the index declined by 2.8 per cent in June.

Over the past year, the index has declined by 9.6 per cent in SDR terms, largely driven by declines in the prices of bulk commodities. The index has declined by 7.3 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 the most recent months, based on market information. Using spot prices for these commodities, the index fell by 2.2 per cent in June in SDR terms, to be around 11 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’ (March 2014).