Chinese Iron Ore, Coal and Soyabean Imports in November

Coal, Grain, Iron Ore

Combined imports of iron ore, coal and soyabeans into China softened on the year to a six-month low of 119.4 Mt in November, customs data show.

Iron ore receipts slipped below 100 Mt for the first time since May to 98.2 Mt last month. Nonetheless this was still 7.5 Mt higher on the year. Continued annual growth boosted January-November imports to 1,073.6 Mt (+104.4 Mt year-on-year), just above the full 2019 total.

Meanwhile, coal imports (including lignite) dropped 9.1 Mt to a year to date low of 11.7 Mt in November.  Imports over the 11-month period totalled 265.0 Mt, falling 32.1 Mt.

By contrast, soyabean arrivals rose 0.9 Mt against October to 9.6 Mt in November (+1.3 Mt year-on-year). Imports in the first 11-months of 2020 climbed 13.8 Mt to 92.8 Mt, also above total 2019 receipts.