The RBA has released its commodity price index for March, which registered a big 5.3% bounce in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – but a smaller 0.3% rise in Australian dollar terms on account of the rising currency:
Preliminary estimates for March indicate that the index rose by 5.3 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 2.1 per cent in February (revised). The increase was led by the prices of iron ore, oil and gold. The base metals and rural subindices both rose in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index rose by 0.3 per cent in March.
