International Trade Price Indexes, Australia

The main contributors to the fall were:

• Coal, coke and briquettes (-7.8%), due to price falls for both thermal and metallurgical coal, as supply concerns for thermal coal eased and global steel demand remained low,
• Metalliferous ores and metal scrap (-0.9%), due to weak Chinese iron ore demand stemming from COVID-19 restrictions and diminished economic growth,
• Petroleum and petroleum products (-7.5%), driven by a fall in oil demand amidst global economic uncertainty, and
• Meat and meat preparations (-3.0%), driven by improved global supply, particularly out of the US as drought conditions led to producers exporting record volumes of beef.

The main offsetting contributors were:

• Cereals and cereal preparations (+8.1%), driven by continued strong demand and the depreciation of the Australian dollar,
• Crude fertilisers and crude minerals (+11.6%), driven by price rises for lithium, as demand increased alongside electric vehicle sales, and
• Gold, non-monetary (+4.3%), driven by market sentiment that inflation had peaked, and monetary policy expected to ease, which turned investors to gold.

Through the year, the Export Price Index rose 20.5%. The main contributors were:

• Coal, coke and briquettes (+42.5%), and
• Gas, natural and manufactured (+46.2%).

The main contributors to the rise were:

• Electrical machinery apparatus and appliances (+3.9%), driven primarily by the depreciation of the Australian dollar, and inflationary pressures in production being passed through,
• Telecommunications equipment (+4.3%), driven by the depreciation of the Australian dollar, offset slightly by small discounts to older model mobile phones, and
• General industrial machinery (+4.1%) driven by higher material costs and the depreciation of the Australian dollar.

The main offsetting contributors were:

• Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (-3.7%), driven by a fall in oil demand amidst global economic uncertainty, and

• Crude fertilizers (-42.3%), driven by weak global demand for sulphur, alongside an excess in supply in the market.

Through the year, the Import Price Index rose 14.9%. The main contributor was:

• Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (+48.0%).

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.