Preliminary estimates for January indicate that the index increased by 4.6 per cent (on a monthly average basis) in SDR terms, after increasing by 1.7 per cent in December. The non-rural, rural and base metals subindices all increased in the month. In Australian dollar terms, the index increased by 2.6 per cent in January.

Over the past year, the index has increased by 2.6 per cent in SDR terms. Decreases in the prices of iron ore, oil, and coking coal have been more than offset by increases in gold, lithium and rural commodity prices. The index has decreased by 0.9 per cent in Australian dollar terms.

Consistent with previous releases, preliminary estimates for iron ore, coking coal, and LNG export prices are being used for the most recent months, based on market information. Using spot prices for the bulk commodities index, the index increased by 5.4 per cent in January in SDR terms, to be 5.3 per cent higher over the past year.