The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) index of commodity prices in special drawing rights (SDR) terms rose 0.9 per cent in November, preliminary estimates from the central bank show.
"The largest contributor to the rise in November was an increase in the price of gold," the RBA said on Wednesday.
"An increase in the estimated price of coal also contributed to the rise, reflecting the strong performance of spot prices in the month, as did an increase in the price of wool.
"The estimated price of iron ore fell in the month, reflecting further movement towards lower contract prices for the December quarter which offset strength in the spot market."
The SDR index rose 44 per cent over the year to November, largely due to higher export prices for iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal export prices.
However, the higher exchange rate meant the index recorded a smaller annual rise of 31 per cent in Australian dollar terms.
In a speech on Monday, RBA governor Glenn Stevens said the central bank's economists are assuming there will be some falls in commodity prices, including for iron ore a drop of "up to about 30 per cent over the next several years".
Despite that, the RBA expects the terms of trade - the ratio of export prices to import prices - to stay relatively high.
The bulk of the gains in national income from the commodities boom should be substantially saved "at least until it becomes clearer what the long run prospects for national income might be," Mr Stevens said.
The value of the SDR is calculated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the basis of a weighted basket of four currencies: US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, and UK pound.
