During the 2013 calendar year, commodity prices rose by 2.4 per cent in US dollar terms.
Australian commodity prices declined 4.1 per cent in US dollar terms over the year, but a lower Australian dollar meant the index rose 11.7 per cent in Australian dollar terms.
Australian commodity prices for December also fell 0.5 per cent in US dollar terms, due to lower prices for iron ore, coal and rural commodities.
The stronger prices for energy commodities such as oil and natural gas helped drive the increase in international commodity prices.
Prices for metals have generally been lower in the past 12 months; however, iron ore bucked the trend, rising 5.4 per cent, due mainly to the growth in demand from China.
Soft commodity prices fell significantly over the year, particularly the prices of corn, wheat and rice.
