China Increases Imports of Iron Ore, Decreases Coking Coal

Reuters reported on the disconnect between the increase in iron ore imports to China and the decrease in coking coal to the country.

As quoted in the market news:

China’s imports of iron ore have risen for the past two months, but those of coking coal have dropped for the past three, creating a seeming disconnect between the two key ingredients for steelmaking.

Coking coal imports slumped to 2.42 million tonnes in September, a 37.5 percent decline from the same month a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.

This followed a drop of 21.7 percent in August and 3.2 percent in July, and in volume terms the September figures was the lowest since May last year.

In contrast, iron ore imports have held up well despite the slowing of growth in the Chinese economy.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.