Rare earth exports

RARE earth exports by China, the world’s dominant producer, fell 16 percent in May from a month earlier amid an increased focus on the raw materials due to the Sino-U.S. trade dispute, although the drop was in line with usual trading.

Exports by China, the key supplier of a group of 17 chemical elements used in everything from high-tech consumer electronics to military equipment, swing sharply from month to month, often by 20 percent or more, customs data shows. May’s exports fell to 3,640 tons from 4,329 tons in April, but were not far off the 4,264-ton monthly average since January 2018, according to data published yesterday.

Copper imports

CHINA’S unwrought copper imports fell 10.9 percent from the previous month to 361,000 tons in May, according to official customs data, in a bearish sign for economic growth in the world’s top consumer of the metal.

Arrivals of unwrought copper, including anode, refined and semi-finished copper products were down from 405,000 tons in April and down 23.2 percent from 470,000 tons in May 2018.

Iron ore imports

THE country’s iron ore imports rebounded in May from an 18-month low in April, but were still well down on the same month last year as disruptions to output in Brazil and Australia hampered shipments.

The world’s biggest iron ore consumer brought in 83.75 million tons of iron ore last month, up 3.7 percent from April but down 11 percent from May 2018, according to official data yesterday. For the first five months of the year, China imported 423.92 million tons of iron ore, down 5.2 percent on the same period in 2018, customs data showed.

Coal imports

THE country’s May coal imports rose 8.6 percent from the month before to 27.47 million tons, customs data showed yesterday, the highest level since January as power utilities boosted purchases ahead of summer.

Weak demand from Europe and ample supplies also pushed global coal prices lower just before China’s peak demand season, encouraging large purchases last month, said traders. Lower prices also helped push May imports up 23 percent from the same month last year, showed the official data.