More poor China data

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The first batch of Chin’a May data arrived yesterday and if it’s going to set the tone for the week ahead then the iron ore top will be in. Trade data for May registered a 2.8% fall in exports, which was slightly better than the 4% expected but imports continue to tank with commodity prices, down 18% versus 9% expected and showing still tepid domestic demand at best:

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As a result the trade surplus soared to $54.5 billion:2

Iron ore imports fell 12% from April to 70.87 million metric tons, and were 8.4% lower year on year.

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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.