The RBA has released its commodity price index for February, which registered a 1.7% jump in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – and a 0.9% decline in Australian dollar terms:
Preliminary estimates for February indicate that the index increased by 1.7 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 4.2 per cent in January (revised). An increase in the price of iron ore was partially offset by a lower coking coal price. Both the rural and base metals subindices increased in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index declined by 0.9 per cent in February.
