Chinese commodity imports are expected to slow in the second half of the year from record levels as the impact of the country’s stimulus package, arbitraging opportunities and stock-piling fade, according to a Royal Bank of Scotland report being published Monday. The market has been expecting a slowdown in Chinese imports for the past three months, but when data for July iron ore and crude oil imports were published last week, it showed another sharp increase to record highs, the FT said. China’s imports of commodities including copper, aluminium, coal, iron ore and crude oil surged in the first half of the year in spite of the economic slowdown, helping to push up world prices, which had collapsed in the aftermath of the global crisis.

This entry was posted by Stacy-Marie Ishmael on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 4:35 and is filed under Capital markets, Commodities. Tagged with aluminium, china, commodities, Copper, crude oil, iron ore. Edit this entry.