Some further detail on the trade data:
Copper:
China imported 330,000 tonnes
- versus 430,000 tonnes in September
Crude oil imported 31.03 million tonnes
- 37.01 million tonnes in September
Iron ore imported 79.49 million tonnes
- 102.83 million tonnes in September
Coal imported 21.28 million tonnes
- versus 27.08 million tonnes in September
Via Reuters, commentary on iron ore WANG DI, CONSULTANT AT CRU, BEIJING
"The steel production cuts should be the main reason, but at the same time because we have a National Day holiday in October and if you look at historical data, October imports are usually lower. "Also probably from the supply side, after really strong shipments in September, there were some maintenance issues at some suppliers from Australia. I think imports will remain relatively low (for November and December) but maybe not as low as October. Given the production cuts and the very high port stocks at the moment, I don't think there's very strong demand."
That's not an overly bright outlook for Australia in coming months
