(Reuters) - China's iron ore imports fell 4.3% in June from the previous month, customs data showed on Friday, as buyers reduced purchases amid high portside inventories and expectations of seasonally slow demand.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 8.0% growth in exports and a 2.8% increase in imports, compared with 7.6% and 1.8%, respectively, in the previous month.
KEY POINTS:
* Crude oil: H1 imports at 275 mmt, down 2.3% y/y
* Unwrought copper: June imports at 436,000 mt, down 3% y/y
* Coal: H1 imports at 250 mmt, up 12.5% y/y
* Iron ore: June imports at 97.61 mmt, up 2.2% y/y
* Rare earths: June imports at 4,829 mt, down 3.6% y/y
Preliminary table of commodity trade data
Below are comments from analysts on the commodities data.
COMMENT ON IRON ORE
XIE QINGWEI, ANALYST, SHANGHAI METALS MARKET
"The price drop in June constrained shipments of some non-mainstream cargoes; shipments among some mainstream miners also fell after having achieved the half-year targets.
"Even though there is a surge in shipments in the last two weeks in June, it takes at least two weeks to arrive in China, so it will probably be reflected in July data."
COMMENT ON COPPER
ZHANG WEIXIN, ANALYST, CHINA FUTURES
"The lower imports fit into expectation. There was no need to import due to poor demand and high inventories in China. Also, high copper prices weighed down buying."
LINKS: For details, see the official Customs website (www.customs.gov.cn)
BACKGROUND:
China is the world's biggest crude oil importer and top buyer of coal, iron ore and soybeans.
(Reporting by Asia Commodities and Energy team; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
