China’s imports of major commodities demonstrated both the possibility of an increase in 2023. And the fact that economic momentum needs time to develop.

The same is true with coal, particularly the coking coal needed to make steel as well as the thermal grade used to produce electricity.

The data, which was issued on Tuesday, shows that for the first 2 months. Crude oil imports totalled to 84.06 million tonnes, or 10.40 million barrels per day.

China’s Re-opening Likely to Impact the Demand for Commodities

The official figure and Refinitiv’s estimate diverge by almost 940,000 bpd. Which is an exceptionally large disparity.

Mixed Pictures of Commodities Imports with Weak Demand

Imports of coal & iron ore showed symptoms of an economy rising from its now-abandoned zero-COVID policy.

In anticipation of the heavier building season that begins as winter comes to a conclusion, steel mills have been stockpiling.

This suggests a positive result for imports from Mongolia. Which typically exports more coking coal than thermal coal, another indication of a healthy steel sector.