China’s export growth slowed in August as imports again surged, trimming the size of the country’s trade surplus.
But the official trade data for last month showed the trade surplus with the US grew in August, despite tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
Export rose 9.8% from a year ago, down from July’s 12.2% rate.
That saw China post a smaller overall trade surplus of $US27.91 billion for the month, down slightly from $US28.05 billion in July.
Imports, a key measure of the strength of China’s domestic demand, grew 20%, beating forecasts. That was after July’s surprise 27.3% surge.
China’s trade surplus with the United States hit a record $US31.05 billion in August – up from $US28.09 billion in July even as the growth in exports slowed slightly.
Economists said the surplus with the United States was larger than China’s net surplus for the month, indicating China would have run a deficit if trade with the world’s largest economy was excluded.
China’s commodity imports – such as coal, iron ore and oil – held up in August, despite the continuing trade brawl with the US which could intensify this week.
Take the key imports Australian investors are interested in – coal and iron ore.
Trade data out on Saturday showed that China’s iron ore imports slowed slightly in August thanks to attempts by the government to ease pollution concerns in key steel producing provinces such as Hebei.
Imports totaled 89.35 million tonnes last month, all but steady on the 89.96 million tonnes imported in July, but up slightly from the 88.66 million tonnes in August last year.
Reuters said China’s main steelmaking centre, Tangshan city, said this week it would continue to carry out production restrictions in September.
That came after mills there were ordered to cut output capacity by as much as 50% over a six-week period from July 20 to Aug. 30.
Reuters says teams of Government inspectors have been sent to the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi to check environmental issues which could cut street production activity in the region.
Coal imports totaled a high 28.68 million tonnes in August – that’s close to four-year highs and was down a touch from the record 29.01 million tonnes, imported in July, but up sharply from the 25.46 million tonnes in June
For the year so far coal imports are up 14.7% at 204 million tonnes and are on their way to top 300 million tonnes of coking and thermal coal.
Imports of unwrought copper imports were 421,000 tonnes as Chinese buyers took advantage from the slide in global copper prices which continued their fall, falling around 20% down from the four and a bit year high reached in early June.
That was down from 452,000 tonnes in July and 440,000 tonnes in June, which global prices peaked around $US7,348 a tonne on the LME.
Imports of copper concentrate also saw a solid rise – up 15.4% to 1.66 million tonnes in August from a year earlier, but down from 1.85 million tonnes in July.
China’s crude oil imports picked up in August, rising rose 6% from July to their highest since May, boosted by a rebound in demand from smaller, independent refiners, known as ‘teapots.
Imports last month were 38.17 million tonnes, or 8.99 million barrels a day (bpd), according to Reuters. Imports were up 12.9% from August 2017.
This was up from 8.0 million bpd a year ago and 8.48 million in July.
For the first eight months of the year, crude imports jumped 6.5% to 299 million tonnes, according to figures from the country’s General Administration of Customs on Saturday.
Total gas imports in August were at 7.77 million tonnes, up from 7.38 million in July and up 39% from the 5.66 million tonnes imported in August 2017.
For the first eight months of the year, imports surged 34.8% to 57.18 million tonnes.
And China’s January-August imports of soybean were 62 million tonnes, after 9.12 million tonnes were imported in August.
