(Bloomberg) -- Chinese exports of fuel and metals in June were well ahead of where they were a year earlier, another sign of sluggish demand from the country’s industrial and property sectors.
Overseas shipments of diesel — a workhorse fuel used in factories, on construction sites and for transport — surged 180% from a year earlier, according to official data released Thursday. Copper exports jumped 187% to a record, while alumina sales were up 109% to a two-year high.
The surge in exports come after China’s growth unexpectedly came in at the slowest pace in five quarters in the three months through June. Beijing’s failure to revive its sagging economy is putting more pressure on President Xi Jinping to unveil measures to reinvigorate domestic demand as he wraps up a twice-a-decade policy-setting meeting on Friday.
The sluggish economy also fed through into oil imports, which were down almost 11% on a year-on-year basis, and 1.1% lower from May amid seasonal maintenance at refineries and lackluster downstream consumption. Apparent oil demand in China fell 8.1% from a year earlier to around 13.7 million barrels a day in June, Bloomberg calculations show.
Diesel exports — which will likely pressure the profits of refineries in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan — were down 23% from May. The month-on-month decline was due to a fall in export margins, Mysteel OilChem said in a note.
It was a more mixed picture in agriculture. Corn imports fell 50% from a year earlier and sugar imports were down 32%. Meanwhile, purchases of wheat and soybeans rose 44% and 11%, respectively.
On the Wire
Several major Russian commodity exporters say trade with China has become a gamble as direct payments made in yuan are increasingly being frozen or delayed after the US in June broadened the criteria for imposing sanctions.
Chinese official media have hit back at a newly popular refrain that the slowing economy has entered a period seen as the “garbage time of history,” underscoring authorities’ unease with rising public discontent over President Xi Jinping’s economic agenda.
Chinese consumers are cutting back on dining out, dealing a heavy blow to related shares as investors grow weary over the once-strong sector and its impact on the domestic economy.
This Week’s Diary
Thursday, July 18:
- China’s Third Plenum in Beijing, day 4
- China’s 2nd batch of June trade data, including agricultural imports; LNG & pipeline gas imports; oil products trade breakdown; alumina, copper and rare-earth product exports; bauxite, steel & aluminum product imports
Friday, July 19:
- China weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- Shanghai exchange weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
Saturday, July 20
- China’s 3rd batch of June trade data, including country breakdowns for energy and commodities
--With assistance from Winnie Zhu.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
