China maintained a reasonable appetite for key commodities in June, but there was nothing to suggest confidence building for an upturn anytime soon.
In fact, a slump in oil imports dominated June – the figure was the lowest in more than a year, with no real explanation from the sector.
Copper and iron ore imports fell from May but were higher than a year ago. Oil imports were weak, but coal imports remained strong.
China’s iron ore imports fell 4.3% in June from May to 97.61 million tonnes, according to customs data released on Friday. However, this was up 2.2% from June 2023. The six-month total from January to June rose substantially by 6.2% to 611.18 million tonnes.
This and continuing weak demand help explain why portside inventories of imported iron ore at the 45 major ports in China remain at multi-year highs. Mysteel’s weekly survey showed the figure steady at 149.9 million tonnes from a year ago as of the end of last week, still 18% above the stocks figure at the same time in 2023.
China’s appetite for crude oil slowed over the first six months of this year with imports down 2.3% compared to the same period in 2023, totaling 275 million tonnes. The sharp decline occurred in June when imports fell to 46.45 million tonnes, down 11% from 2023. S&P Global suggested that cuts by independent refineries were responsible for this significant drop.
China’s imports of natural gas, including via pipeline and LNG cargoes, increased by 14.3% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, totaling 64.65 million tonnes according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
China’s unwrought copper imports also fell in June to a 14-month low, as shown by customs data released on Friday, due to weak domestic demand and high levels of stocks suppressing buying appetite. Chinese metal stocks are currently at four-year highs, as the refining and smelting industry continues to struggle with concentrate supplies, which remain in short supply as Chinese companies buy up as much as they can get.
Imports of unwrought copper and products totaled 436,000 tonnes last month, down 3% from 449,649 tonnes a year earlier and the lowest since April 2023, according to figures from the General Administration of Customs. Imports were down 15% from May’s 514,000 tonnes. The data includes anode, refined, alloy, and semi-finished copper products. For the first half of the year, copper imports were up 6.8% to 2.76 million tonnes, the data showed.
Imports of copper concentrate were 2.31 million tonnes in June, up 8.7% from a year earlier. Imports totaled 13.9 million tonnes in the first six months of 2024, up 3.7% from the first half of 2023.
But China’s appetite for coal continued to surge in June, up 12% from a year ago. Imports totaled a high of 44.6 million tonnes last month, according to the General Administration of Customs, up from 43.82 million tonnes in May. Record high temperatures swept across northwest and east China in June, boosting electricity demand as people turned on their air conditioning to stay cool (dry weather continues in the central and northern parts of the country).
In the first half of 2024, China’s overall coal imports were up 12.5% from a year earlier at 250 million tonnes. This is 50 million tonnes (just over a month at the current rate) away from the old unofficial annual limit of 300 million tonnes.