-- Australia's export prices rose 0.5% in the March quarter after a 3.2% increase in the December 2025 quarter, while import prices rose 0.1% after a 0.9% increase in the previous quarter, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday.
Non-monetary gold, coal, coke and briquettes, and crude fertilizers were the main contributors to the increase in export prices, rising by around 11%, 5.3%, and 58%, respectively.
The main factors offsetting the growth in export prices were metalliferous ores and metal scrap, which decreased 5%, and natural and manufactured gas, which fell 8.2%.
The main contributors to the rise in import prices were petroleum and related products, non-monetary gold, and non-ferrous metals, rising by about 9.8%, 11%, and 17%, respectively.
"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz created a surge in oil prices in the latter part of [the] March quarter," said Sue-Ellen Luke, the bureau's head of prices statistics.
The growth in import prices was partly offset by office and automatic data processing machines, which decreased 5.1%, and road vehicles, which fell 1.1%.
Throughout the year, export prices fell 1.9%, while import prices declined 0.3%.