Commodity price index signals further terms-of-trade lift

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By Leith van Onselen

The RBA has released its commodity price index for May, which increased by 0.5% in SDR (currency weighted) terms – the key determinant of the terms-of-trade – and by 2.5% in Australian dollar terms:

Preliminary estimates for May indicate that the index increased by 0.5 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 2.7 per cent in April (revised). The non-rural subindex increased in the month, while the rural and base metals subindices decreased. In Australian dollar terms, the index increased by 2.5 per cent in May.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.