Imports into China fell heavily in April – down 14.2% from a year earlier, but not so imports of crude oil, coal, iron ore and copper which all rose from their March levels, and all four were stronger in the first four months of the year than in the same period in 2019.
Iron ore imports rose sharply to top 97 million tonnes.
China’s Customs Administration said on Thursday that iron ore imports in April rose 13% from a month earlier thanks to continuing solid demand from steelmakers as steel users started to emerge from lockdowns aimed at containing the coronavirus epidemic.
The Customs data showed that 97.27 million tonnes were imported last month, up from 85.91 million tonnes in March and 80.77 million tonnes a year earlier, when shipments from Brazil’s top miner Vale were disrupted after a tailings dam disaster on January 25.
In fact imports in April of 2019 hit an 18 month low because of the shortfall from Brazil.
In the first four months of 2020, China imported 360 million tonnes of iron ore, up 5.8% from 340.21 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to customs.
That’s a sharp rise in the pace of imports from the 1.3% increase reported for the first quarter.
And there was no steep fall in world iron ore prices in April to help boost imports – the price of 62% Fe fines delivered to northern China remained in the range of $US82 to $US88 a tonne throughout the month
Capacity utilisation rates at blast furnaces in 247 mills tracked by consultants Mysteel rose for a seventh straight week to 81.68% as of April 30, up from below 74% in mid-March as demand for steel products picked up.
The customs data on Thursday also showed exports of steel products in the first four months of 2020 fell 11.7% from a year earlier to 20.6 million tonnes.
That’s a reflection of sluggish demand in offshore markets because of the lockdowns and the continuing impact of Trump’s tariffs.
China’s crude oil imports eased in April from a month earlier as buyers didn’t take advantage of record low prices for most types of crude in the month. In fact, analysts said there was no sign of any stockpiling of oil by China in April.
The country imported 40.43 million tonnes of crude in April, down from 41.1 million tonnes in March.
Imports during the first four months of the year rose 1.7% to 167.61 million tonnes from the first four months of 2019.
Gas imports totalled 7.73 million tonnes. That compares to 6.92 million tonnes in March and 7.65 million tonnes in April of last year.
For the first four months, gas imports reached 32.33 million tonnes, up 1.5% from the same period last year.
The customs bureau also released data showing China exported 8 million tonnes of refined oil products in April, up from 7.26 million tonnes in March and 6.17 million tonnes in April 2019.
Exports in the January to April period rose 15% to 26.01 million tonnes from the same period last year
Meanwhile, China’s imports of coal jumped in April as power demand returned as the lockdowns eased and world prices fell.
April imports of 30.94 million tonnes up 23% from March’s 27.83 million, and 35% above the 25.3 million tonnes from the same month in 2019.
The surge in April imports came as prices in the seaborne market dropped and power demand recovered as the economy restarted.
China’s imports of coal for the year to April totalled 130 million tonnes, up 27% from a year ago.
In the case of coal, Chinese buyers took advantage of sliding prices for thermal coal.
Weekly spot prices of benchmark thermal coal from Newcastle were $US49 a tonne on Monday of this week of May 4, the lowest since February 2016.
The price is down 28% from a peak of $US68.25 in January before China imposed widespread lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
China’s imports of unwrought copper rose to 460,952 tonnes in April, up of 4.3% on March’s 441,926 tonnes and up a stronger 13.8% from April last year.
For the year to April, copper imports totalled 1.75 million tonnes up more than 10% from the same period in 2019.
China’s appetite for copper concentrates continued unabated with the monthly total in April topping 2 million tonnes for only the third time, according to Reuters data.
That was up 14.1% from the previous month and up 22.5% year-on-year.
Some analysts wondered if the strong rise in copper imports of all types is also evidence of stockpiling at low prices in the month.
Reuters also reported that exports of aluminium dropped 14.9% from March to 441,177.1 tonnes, as the spread of the coronavirus pandemic saw offshore buyers abandoned their orders.
The total, which includes including primary aluminium, alloy and semi-finished products, was down 11.4% from a year earlier.
The sharp falls in aluminium and steel exports tell us that the 3.5% rise in overall exports last month for the country as a whole, must have been driven by some one-off items in more manufactured goods.
