Chinese July Trade Data

Coal, Grain, Iron Ore, Steel

China imported 30.2 Mt of coal (including anthracite and lignite) in July, the highest volume since December and up from 26.1 Mt in the same month last year, official customs data show.

For iron ore, imports in July reached 88.5 Mt, down sharply from 112.6 Mt in July 2020 and also the lowest level since May last year. Steep annual declines in shipments in the past two months meant January-July imports of 649.9 Mt were down by 9.9 Mt on the same period last year.

Meanwhile, soyabean imports slowed to a three-month low of 8.7 Mt in July, down by 1.4 Mt year-on-year. Nevertheless, January-July imports were still 2.5 Mt higher at 57.6 Mt.

Finally, steel exports reached 5.7 Mt in July, up 1.5 Mt year-on-year, while imports hit 1.1 Mt, the lowest level since April last year and down 1.5 Mt year-on-year.  Exports in January-July reached 43.1 Mt, and imports 8.4 Mt. This compares with exports of 40.0 Mt and imports of 10.0 Mt, respectively, in the same period last year.