The prices Australia pays for imports eased in the September quarter as global oil supply improved. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ International Trade Price Indexes, released on Thursday 29 October, show the Import Price Index fell 1.1% in the quarter, while the Export Price Index rose 1.4%.

Imports: oil down, tech up

The ABS said the main contributors to the fall in import prices were:

  • Petroleum and related products (−8.7%), “due to improving global supply conditions after a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, dropping oil prices”.
  • Fertilisers (−20.2%), on lower urea and potassium chloride prices as Chinese exports resumed and shipping disruptions eased.
  • Gold (−5.0%), which the ABS attributed to tight monetary policy and elevated interest rates reducing demand.

Pushing the other way, prices for office and automatic data processing machines rose 7.3%, driven by strong global demand for equipment associated with data centres, cloud computing and AI-related hardware, and telecommunications equipment rose 4.1%.

The quarterly fall comes after a 5.7% jump in the June quarter, and import prices remain 5.5% higher than a year earlier. Petroleum and related products are up 48.0% over the year.

Exports: gas and coal lead

Export prices rose on gas (+28.6%), as oil-indexed contracts followed the rise in crude prices in the June quarter; coal, coke and briquettes (+4.8%), on constrained Chinese supply; and cereals (+5.7%). Metal ores fell 6.4%, weighed down by stronger export volumes from Australia and Brazil and weaker Chinese construction. Over the year, export prices are up 6.3%.

Why it matters

Import prices feed into the costs businesses pay for fuel, inputs and equipment, so an easing in oil is welcome news for importers and transport-heavy firms. But the release lands days before the Reserve Bank’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting, and the year-on-year figures show how much of this year’s price shock is still in the system. For businesses investing in technology, the ABS data point to rising, not falling, hardware costs.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, International Trade Price Indexes, Australia, September 2026 (released 29 October 2026).