Media Release Trade-weighted Index

The new weights for the TWI have been compiled and are reported in the table below. These weights, which reflect the composition of Australia's two-way merchandise trade in 2005/06, will apply from 3 October 2006.

Weights in the Trade-weighted Index

Per cent

Currency	Trade Weight
	Current	Previous
Japanese yen	16.3340	16.3596
Chinese renminbi	13.9352	12.7491
European euro	12.2018	13.0819
United States dollar	10.9806	11.9388
South Korean won	6.1429	5.7178
Singapore dollar	4.9791	4.1299
New Zealand dollar	4.7979	5.6381
United Kingdom pound sterling	4.6430	4.1785
New Taiwan dollar	3.2791	3.3041
Thai baht	3.2464	3.1509
Malaysian ringgit	3.1347	3.3057
Indian rupee	2.9113	2.8263
Indonesian rupiah	2.8814	2.6159
Vietnamese dong	1.7125	1.4794
Hong Kong dollar	1.5360	1.5237
South African rand	1.2920	1.1587
Papua New Guinea kina	1.2532	1.1396
Canadian dollar	1.2458	1.4786
Saudi Arabian riyal	1.1446	1.2539
Swedish krona	0.9505	0.8737
United Arab Emirates dirham	0.7788	0.8146
Swiss franc	0.6192	0.6723
Philippine peso	--	0.6089

The combined weight of the Asian-Pacific currencies increased by 1½ percentage points from last year to 66¼ per cent, as Australia's merchandise trade with the region continues to expand. The combined weight of European currencies fell by ½ percentage point to 18½ per cent, while the combined weight of North American currencies fell by 1¼ percentage points to 12¼ per cent.

The Japanese yen continues to have the highest weight in the index. The Chinese renminbi weight increased by 1¼ percentage points, its fourth consecutive increase of more than 1 percentage point, and is now ranked second. The European euro and US dollar weights each declined by 1 percentage point.