Australia’s export commodity prices rose slightly in July after hitting a 16-month low in May and rising only a fraction in June.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) index of commodity prices in July was 1.3 per cent higher in foreign currency terms than in June, extending the rise of 0.3 per cent in the June figure over May.

The 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.

In July, the index was 9.8 per cent lower than at its peak a year before, but still more than three times higher than before the price surge caused by booming demand for minerals.

The index in July was up by 221 per cent compared with its level at the end of 2003.

The RBA said the largest contributors to the rise in July were increases in the prices of wheat and oil.

The prices of some other rural export commodities rose in July, but coking coal and thermal coal prices suffered declines, the RBA said.

In Australian dollar terms, the index fell by 2.4 per cent in July as the currency headed higher.