The RBA has released its commodity price index for December, which surged 8.6% in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – to be 11.7% higher over the year:
Preliminary estimates for December indicate that the index increased by 8.6 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 2 per cent in November (revised). The non-rural, rural and base metals sub-indices all increased in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index increased by 6.1 per cent in December.
Over the past year, the index has increased by 11.7 per cent in SDR terms, led by higher iron ore prices. The index has increased by 6.6 per cent in Australian dollar terms.
