The RBA has released its commodity price index for March, which fell by 0.6% in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – but increased by 1.0% in Australian dollar terms:
Preliminary estimates for March indicate that the index decreased by 0.6 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 5.6 per cent in February (revised). Iron ore led the decrease. The rural subindex increased in the month, while the base metals subindex declined. In Australian dollar terms, the index increased by 1 per cent in March.
