Australia's export price index, which tracks changes in the prices of merchandise and goods exported from the country, increased 1.4% in the September quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
The import price index, meanwhile, declined 1.1%.
The main contributors to the rise in export prices include gas, which jumped roughly 29% as oil-indexed contracts followed the rise in crude oil prices, as well as coal, coke, briquettes, and cereals. These were partly offset by a 6.4% decline in metalliferous ores and metal scrap and a 4.8% fall for non-monetary gold as tighter monetary policy impacted demand.
The primary factors impacting the import price index include a 8.7% decline in petroleum and related products, as well as a more than 20% fall in fertilizers excluding crude, driven by lower urea and potassium chloride prices. These were partly offset by growth in office and automatic data processing machines as well as telecommunications equipment.
