August saw the commodities boom decisively punctured, according to the Reserve Bank’s Commodity Price Index for the month.
The RBA said that preliminary estimates for August indicate that the index fell 4.6% in August in Australian dollar terms.
But that still left the index up 49.3% in the year to August, thanks to the earlier boost from higher iron ore prices in particular.
As usual the RBA’s preliminary estimates for iron ore, coking coal, thermal coal and LNG export prices were again used for the most recent months, based on market information.
August saw the price of 62% Fe iron ore fines (from MB Fastmarkets) fall 9.6% while the price of 58% Fe fines dropped nearly 17%.
Oil prices fell – Brent lost just over 4%, but US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped more than 7%, an outcome improved by a rise late last week and on Monday because of Hurricane Ida.
Comex gold prices ended August barely in the green – a rise of 0.1%. Comex silver suffered a larger drop – more than 6% and Comex copper shed 2.7%, though that was softened by the big rise last week.
Thermal coal prices rose $US13 a tonne, according to the Newcastle Index, the key pricing measure for global thermal coal exports and especially in North Asia.
Wheat futures added 3% in August, according to data from the Chicago Board of Trade.
