China was expected to release its monthly trade data on Saturday, September 7. It typically releases this data on the 7th day of the following month, except at the start of the year and sometimes after the end of a quarter.
However, the trade data is now due on Tuesday, a day after the release of the August inflation figures.
Some analysts believe the People’s Bank of China may implement a reserve asset ratio cut or even a rate cut next week, after hinting at a potential policy change on Friday.
Chinese shares dropped on Friday as sentiment weakened due to concerns about the country’s economic outlook following signals from the Chinese central bank about possible rate cuts.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% for the session and 2.35% for the week. The Shenzhen Component Index declined 1.4% on Friday and 2.4% for the week.
The blue-chip CSI 300 Index dropped 0.8% for the day and 2.3% for the week.
On Friday, the People’s Bank of China hinted at further monetary easing after announcing that it has more room to reduce reserve requirement ratios.
This announcement raised concerns about the Chinese economy’s slowing growth, which has been affected by a downturn in the property sector and weak demand.
Traders are hoping the government will introduce strong stimulus measures to address these issues, but Beijing has yet to unveil any significant measures.
Meanwhile, iron ore futures prices ended the week on an uncertain note in Singapore, finishing around 8% down after a very weak week of trading.
Australian coking coal futures also slumped on the SGX platform on Friday.
October 62% Fe fines delivered to northern China closed at $US92.20 a tonne, down from $US101.03 the previous Friday (the final day of August).
Iron ore traders were met with more bad news about rising stockpiles of the steelmaking mineral.
Mysteel reported that China’s 45 major ports held a total of 154.1 million tonnes of iron ore on September 5, the highest level since April 2022, following a small rise of 365,700 tonnes, or 0.2%, compared to a week earlier.
The daily iron ore discharge volume from the 45 ports averaged 3 million tonnes a day during the August 29-September 4 period, a 1% increase over the week, as domestic steelmakers slightly lifted their output and picked up more spot cargoes from portside to meet demand. As of September 5, 98 iron ore vessels were waiting to unload cargo.
Meanwhile, December premium Australian coking coal prices fell sharply, ending the week at $US186 a tonne, down from $US210 a tonne the previous Friday.