Australia's export commodity prices ended 2013 on a weak note, falling to their lowest level in over three and a half years.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's index of commodity prices fell by one per cent in foreign currency terms between November and December.
Lower prices for gold, iron ore and coking coal were the main reasons for the latest fall, the RBA said.
The fall in December brought the decline through 2013 to four per cent.
But that followed steeper falls over the preceding year and a half, meaning the index was 25 per cent lower than the all-time high set in July 2011.
The index last recorded a lower reading than December's 42 months earlier, in April 2010.
The foreign currency price index price index is measured in terms of special drawing rights (SDRs), an average of four major currencies - the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, and British pound.
The fall in commodity prices in foreign currency terms has been only partly offset by a lower exchange rate.
As a result, the index is still down by 16 per cent from its mid-2011 high when valued in Australian dollars.
Share
