International Trade Price Indexes, Australia

The main contributors to the rise were:

• Coal, coke and briquettes (+51.9%), driven by surging global demand for thermal and coking coals.
• Gas, natural and manufactured (+36.1%), due to the rise in oil-linked contracts capturing the continued oil price rises in 2021.
• Non-ferrous metals (+9.5%), through increased manufacturing demand as pandemic restrictions ease and economic activity increases.
• Meat and meat preparations (+4.5%), due to strong demand for beef and constrained global supply.
• Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (+8.7%), driven by strong global oil demand outpacing growth in global supply.

The main offsetting contributor was:

• Metalliferous ores and metal scrap (-29.4%), driven by the fall in demand for iron ore from China.

Through the year, the Export Price Index rose 38.3%. The main contributors were:

• Coal, coke and briquettes (+175.2%), and
• Gas, natural and manufactured (+161.5%).

The main contributors to the rise were:

• Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (+14.6%), driven by strong global oil demand outpacing growth in global supply.
• Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles) (+4.3%), prices rose driven by the introduction of new model vehicles.
• Inorganic chemicals (+51.2%), driven by sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) demand, primarily used in bauxite refining.
• Telecommunications equipment (+6.0%), driven primarily by new mobile phone model releases entering the market at higher prices.

• Fertilisers (excluding crude) (+19.0%), due to rising energy costs of production and strong global demand, particularly for urea.

Through the year, the Import Price Index rose 13.8%. The main contributor was:

• Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (+79.0%).

Import Price Index

Export Price Index

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Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

This release previously used catalogue number 6457.0.