Commodity prices fall by 1.7 per cent

Commodity prices were down 1.7 per cent in March and fell 19.7 per cent in annual terms, weighed down by weaker iron ore prices.

Commodity prices fell by 1.7 per cent in foreign currency terms in March, figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia show.

The fall followed a 3.7 per cent drop in February and brought the annual rate of decline in Australia's export commodity prices to 19.7 per cent.

The largest contributor to the decline in February was iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal export prices, which together have fallen 2.6 per cent in March and around 19 per cent in annual terms, the RBA said.