Australia commodity index falls in August - RBA

SYDNEY, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) index of commodity prices fell 3 percent in August, from July, when measured in special drawing rights (SDR) terms.

The drop followed a revised 0.9 percent increase in July. The largest contributors to the fall in August were declines in the prices of iron ore and coking coal. The prices of rural commodities and base metals also declined, while prices for oil and gold rose in the month.

In Australian dollar terms, the index fell 4.3 percent in August, to be down 18.5 percent on the year.

The index was down 13.7 percent in SDR terms compared to August last year. Much of this fall has been due to declines in the prices of coking coal and iron ore. Despite the drop, the index is still more than three times higher than where it was in the early 2000's. (Reporting by Wayne Cole)