September quarter key statistics
Import price index
- Rose 0.4% this quarter
- Rose 1.2% over the last twelve months.
Main positive contributors are:
- Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold ores and concentrates) (+15.0%)
- General industrial machinery and equipment, n.e.s., and machine parts, n.e.s. (+2.4%) and
- Telecommunications and sound-recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (+1.6%).
Offsetting falls occurred in:
- Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (–4.9%) and
- Organic chemicals (–10.8%)
Export price index
- Rose 1.3% this quarter
- Rose 14.7% over the last twelve months.
Main positive contributors are:
- Gas, natural and manufactured (+7.0%)
- Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold ores and concentrates) (+15.6%)
- Metalliferous ores and metal scrap (+2.4%)
- Meat and meat preparations (+4.8%) and
- Non-ferrous metals (+3.1%)
Offsetting falls occurred in:
- Coal, coke and briquettes (–5.9%)
- Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials (–9.9%)
- Textile fibres and their wastes (not manufactured into yarn or fabric) (–7.9%) and
- Cereals and cereal preparations (–4.0%)
Exchange rate
- The Australian dollar depreciated against the United States dollar.
- This had an upward effect on import and export prices this quarter.
| Jun Qtr 19 to Sep Qtr 19 | Sep Qtr 18 to Sep Qtr 19 | |
|---|---|---|
| % change | % change | |
| Import Price Index all groups | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Food and live animals | 1.4 | 5.0 |
| Beverages and tobacco | 1.8 | 3.5 |
| Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | -5.8 | -3.6 |
| Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | -3.9 | -9.9 |
| Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | -2.7 | -10.9 |
| Chemicals and related products, n.e.s. | -1.0 | -3.0 |
| Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 1.1 | 4.9 |
| Machinery and transport equipment | 0.9 | 3.1 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 1.4 | 3.3 |
| Commodities and transactions, n.e.s. | 15.0 | 29.6 |
| Export Price Index all groups | 1.3 | 14.7 |
| Food and live animals | 1.1 | 6.5 |
| Beverages and tobacco | 6.5 | 9.1 |
| Crude materials, inedible, except fuels | 1.7 | 45.2 |
| Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials | -1.3 | -6.5 |
| Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes | 2.8 | 3.6 |
| Chemicals and related products, n.e.s. | -0.3 | 0.2 |
| Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material | 1.1 | -1.8 |
| Machinery and transport equipment | 0.5 | 3.3 |
| Miscellaneous manufactured articles | 1.7 | 4.4 |
| Commodities and transactions, n.e.s. | 14.8 | 29.2 |
Changes in this issue
The Import Price Index and the Export Price Index have been reweighted for the September quarter 2019. These indexes are annually reweighted each September quarter, using import and export values. A detailed explanation of the reweighting methodology and data sources is available in the Methodology, under the heading Items and weights. The new weighting patterns are provided in the Appendix of this issue. As a consequence of the annual reweighting, the points contribution data for the June quarter 2019 shown in Tables 2, 8 and 17 have been updated from those published in the previous issue of this publication.
Use of price indexes in contracts
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.