Australia: RBA commodity price index rises at highest rate ever

By FXstreet.com,  June 01, 2010, 02:35:00 AM EDT

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The Reserve Bank of Australia's ( RBA ) index of commodity prices in special drawing rights ( SDR ) terms rose 2.9% on a monthly basis in May, bringing annualized growth to 43.8% from April's revised 30.0% YoY growth.

The largest contributors to the rise in May were increases in the gold price, and the estimated prices of iron ore and coal, offsetting a decline in prices of base metals and crude oil fell.

This comes after a record monthly increase in April of 18.6%, and a mild 2.8% increase in March. May's figure reflects the highest rate of commodity price growth since the index began in 1982, reflecting growing worldwide demand for gold and Asia's demand for Australian raw materials.

The RBA Commodity Price SDR released by the Reserve Bank of Australia is considered as an early indicator of export price changes. The price changes influence GDP and exchange rates. An increase in prices may indicate strength of the AUD, while a decrease in prices may indicate weakness of the AUD. A high reading is seen as bullish for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as bearish.




The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.


This article appears in: Investing, Forex and Currencies

Referenced Stocks: RBA, SDR



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