LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 4 (Reuters) – The impact on commodity prices of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has largely focused on crude oil and natural gas in Europe, but a massive surge in Australia’s forecast earnings from natural resources shows the wider impact.
Australia’s government forecaster said in its latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report, released on Monday, that earnings from commodity exports would rise to a record A$424.9 billion ($318 billion) for the fiscal year to June 30, 2022.
This is up a full third from earnings in 2020-21, and also up nearly A$50 billion since the December quarter report. Driving the jump, says the Office of the Chief Economist at the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, is the upsurge in the price of energy commodities since Moscow’s Feb. 24 attack on its neighbour.
It’s also likely that the government is being cautious with its forecasting, with the price assumptions likely to be below what is actually achieved over the year to June 30.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russias-war-delivers-massive-boost-australias-commodities-2022-04-04/