AUSTRALIA DATA: Exports To Asia Weak, Commodity Prices Lower
The prices of key Australian commodity exports were all lower in September weighing on merchandise exports. Quantities of commodity shipments were more mixed. Export growth to Australia’s key Asian destinations was generally weak.
- While shipments to China rose in September they fell 16.2% y/y after -16.3%. They were down 16% y/y to Japan and 13.2% y/y to Korea. There has been a global trend of strong exports to the US and Australia’s rose 19.3% y/y but they are a small market compared with Asian countries.
- The unit values of iron ore, coal and LNG exports all fell in September. Iron ore and hard coking coal had been down in August. Volumes of iron ore and hard coking coal rose in September predominantly driven by China but also Taiwan, and India and Turkey for the latter. Quantities fell for thermal & semi-soft coal due to Japan, India and the Netherlands. LNG was also lower.
Australia merchandise exports to Asia y/y%
Want to read more?
Find more articles and bullets on these widgets:
Historical bullets
CHINA PRESS: Housing Market Heats Up With Increased Visitors
Local housing markets heated up during the Golden Week holiday with the number of inquiries for home purchases rising, as over 130 cities launched sales promotions, Shanghai Securities News reported. A leading housing developer said visitors to its 49 projects in 12 key cities increased 79% when compared with the Mid-Autumn Festival, while the average subscription rose by 121%. Housing prices in core cities are expected to stabilise and the bottoming out of major cities will further drive the national market, the newspaper said citing Chen Wenjing, research director at China Index Academy.
CHINA PRESS: PBOC's Captial Market Supporting Tools Will Not Increase Base Money
The People's Bank of China’s latest facilities to support the capital market will not lead to an injection of base currency or balance-sheet expansion, while investors should consider their risk tolerance, wrote Xu Zhong, vice president at the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors. Financial institutions should strengthen internal control and compliance responsibilities, warn individual investors of risks, and strictly prevent credit funds from flowing into the stock market in disguise of consumer loans, according to Xu. (Source: Securities Times)
CHINA PRESS: FX Rises Above USD3.3 Trillion In September
China’s foreign exchange reserves were USD3.32 trillion at the end of September, rising above the USD3.3 trillion mark again for the first time since December 2015, Securities Times reported citing data by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. This was mainly due to a 0.96% decline in the U.S. dollar index over the month, alongside an appreciation of onshore yuan by 725 basis points against the greenback, the newspaper said. The accelerated allocation of Chinese assets by foreign investors following the country’s latest pro-growth measures has also provided strong support for FX stability, as the yuan continues to rise and banks' forex settlement and sales on behalf of customers have turned into a surplus, the Times said citing Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.
