China’s May Soybean Imports Surge While Oil and Ore Decline

China’s commodity trade in May reflected a mixed performance, with soybean imports surging while purchases of crude oil, coal, and iron ore declined, according to customs data released Monday. The shift comes amid ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. and fluctuating domestic demand.

Soybean imports jumped 128.9% month-on-month to 13.92 million metric tons (mmt), surpassing analyst expectations. Rosa Wang of JCI noted that customs clearance has normalized and crushing plant operations are now above 50%, with strong soybean meal deliveries supporting the uptick.

Meanwhile, crude oil imports fell 3% from April to 48.06 mmt, reflecting a slowdown in refinery activity. Coal imports dropped 4.73% to 36.04 mmt, while iron ore declined 4.9% to 98.13 mmt, with analysts citing advanced customs clearance in April ahead of the May Day holiday as a factor. Steven Yu of Mysteel added that the timing anomaly affected monthly comparisons, although overall iron ore demand remained steady due to restocking efforts by steel mills. Chu Xinli from China Futures highlighted that despite the drop, iron ore volumes remained at a historically high level.

Unwrought copper imports also dipped slightly by 2.5% to 427,000 metric tons, indicating softer industrial demand. In contrast, rare earth exports rose 22.6% to 5,864.6 metric tons.

On the broader trade front, China’s exports in May grew 4.8% year-on-year, slightly below expectations of 5%, while imports fell 3.4%, deeper than the anticipated 0.9% decline, suggesting persistent external pressures and weaker domestic demand.

As the world’s leading importer of crude oil, coal, copper, iron ore, and soybeans, China’s monthly commodity data offers critical insight into global trade and economic momentum.