MONTHLY STATISTICAL RELEASE Index of Commodity Prices Release date: 1 July 2009

Preliminary estimates for June indicate that the index fell by 1.7 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, following a decrease of 4.1 per cent (revised) in May. The largest contributors to the fall in June were decreases in the estimated prices of coking coal, thermal coal and iron ore (see below). The prices of nickel, copper and aluminium rose. In Australian dollar terms, the index is estimated to have fallen by 4.9 per cent in June, following a decrease of 8.8 per cent (revised) in May.

As indicated in previous releases, the index is being affected by lower prices for coking coal, iron ore and thermal coal. Changes in annual contracts and pricing arrangements are expected to flow through to export prices over a number of months. Given that available export price data may not yet fully reflect anticipated price developments, preliminary estimates for coking coal, iron ore and thermal coal export prices have been incorporated into the index for April, May and June. Taking both the large observed falls in coal and iron ore export prices prior to April, and the subsequent estimates, most of the anticipated adjustment in the index has now taken place.

The breakdown of the weights used in the index are set out in the Bulletin for October 2003.

Details are in the attached table and graph.

Table: Historical Data Table - XLS 50K

Click to view larger

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