Chinese slowdown hits iron ore prices

Getting accurate data regarding economic activity in the Middle Kingdom is always difficult. I've blogged about it before and have grown to look at circumstantial indicators for clues as to what's happening in there. Mr Chovanec and Soberlook are two blogs who've been writing about evidence of a slowdown for some time now.  

One of those indicators is sliding back down again and is close to the panic lows of last fall. Iron Ore prices did not bounce much from the October lows and are now inching downward again.

News of the Chinese refusing to purchase previously ordered cargoes of Iron Ore and Coal is additional data supporting the slowdown thesis.  A serious slowdown in China would not bode well for the world economy considering Europe's problems as well.  Keep an eye on Iron prices. If they fall through the October floor I'd be cautious.

China Watch -- Iron ore imports

Do you really trust the statistics coming out of China?  

Watching the periphery and seeing what is going into and out of China mitigates any 'massaging' by the Chinese abacus crunchers. 

Since China imports quite a bit of iron ore, observing their monthly trade flows on this important basic commodity can provide a peek into what is going on in the Middle Kingdom.

 Bloomberg - Chinese ore imports shows their importation of iron ore.  You can see the large recent spike in imports.  The increase is above trendline over the past several years.

h/t to MacroMan