China imported 96.2 million tonnes of iron ore for the month of August 2022, up 5.4% on the previous month according to data released by the country’s General Administration of Customs.
Total spend for the metal was down 6.3% to $10.8 billion US dollars on softening prices.
August also saw a decline in spend of 46.6% from the previous year, despite volume remaining relatively steady.
Copper ore and concentrates
Chinese imports of copper ore and concentrates increased by 19.5% in August to 2.3 million tonnes, with spend also increasing by 7.9%.
Year-on-year volume for the base metal was up by 20.4%, with spend also increasing by 4.7%.
Coal and lignite
August coal and lignite imports increased by over 25% from July to 29.5 million tonnes, with spend also increasing by 8.7%.
Year-on-year figures saw a 5% increase in tonnage, with spend up by 32.1% compared to August 2021.
Rare Earths
Rare earth imports declined by 23.2% month-on-month during August, with spend logging a moderate increase of 2.2%
Australian exports to China
Total Australian exports to China amounted to 12.5 billion US dollars in August, representing a trade surplus of just over 5.4 billion dollars.
The figure decreased from 14 billion dollars in July, and represented a 31% year-on-year decline from August 2021.
