The Reserve Bank of Australia published preliminary June estimates for its Index of Commodity Prices showing the index fell 2.2 per cent on a monthly average basis in Special Drawing Rights terms, after a 1.0 per cent increase in May. In Australian dollar terms, the index fell 0.7 per cent. The monthly decline reflected falls in the non-rural and base metals subindices, partly offset by an increase in the rural subindex. Over the past year, the index rose 16.9 per cent in SDR terms and 8.0 per cent in Australian dollar terms. Higher prices for gold, coking coal and rural commodities more than offset lower prices for liquefied natural gas and alumina. For the latest months, the series continues to use preliminary estimates for iron ore, coking coal, thermal coal and liquefied natural gas export prices based on market information. On a spot-price basis for the bulk commodities index, prices fell 2.4 per cent in June in SDR terms but remained 19.7 per cent higher than a year earlier.