The current weakness in the Chinese economy was again underlined by the July trade data which showed no real improvement in the pace of growth in imports and exports.
Because of another month of low growth in imports the country reported its first ever triple digital trade surplus in history in July – $US101.26 billion, up from the previous record of $US97.9 billion reported in June and market forecasts around $US90 billion.
Exports rose 18% last month, up from the 17.9% recorded in June. That is not growth, despite some media reports asserting the contrary.
Imports edged up 2.3% last month against the 1% rise reported in June. While there was growth, it was a little slower than the 3% forecast by the market.
For the January to July, the trade surplus was a record $US482.3 billion – another sign the country’s economy is not doing well.
For the January-July seven month period, imports rose 5.3%.
China’s trade surplus for the US was $US41.5 billion, compared with $US41.4 billion.
Compared to a year ago, imports of unwrought copper rose 9.29%, copper ores & concentrates (up 0.64%), and iron ore (3.08%). Rubber imports also rose and were up 10.48% over the month.
By contrast, imports of crude oil fell 9.5%, refined products (-35.32%), natural gas (-6.85%), coal (-22.07%), and steel products (-24.761%). Soybean imports fell 9.1%, edible oil (-36.20%), and meat (-24.71%).
China’s imports of unwrought copper and copper product totalled 463,693.8 tonnes in July, compared with 424,280.3 tonnes a year earlier. July’s copper imports, however, were down 13.8% from the previous month’s 537,698 tonnes.
In the first seven months of 2022, China imported 3.41 million tonnes of unwrought copper and copper, an increase of 5.8% from the first seven months of 2021.
China’s imports of iron ore in July rose 3.1% from a year earlier, General Administration of Customs data showed on Sunday, as steelmakers’ profit margins grewdespite concerns over demand.
Imports totalled 91.24 million tonnes last month, up from 88.51 million tonnes in July 2021, the General Administration of Customs data showed
The July figure was also 2.6% higher than the 88.97 million tonnes imported in June.
