Teck to lay off workers, cut spending as US-China trade war weighs on profit

A build-up in steel inventories and a steep drop-off in demand as China's building boom begins to look more and more unsustainable send iron ore down 3.4% in just the last week and more than 25% below the $174 a tonne struck this time last year.

Chinese media sources have confirmed rumours of government stockpiling of rare earths which have been in circulation since earlier this month with China’s leading English-language daily reporting that the central government has budgeted around US$949 million for the undertaking.

Citic Pacific Mining executive chairman Dongyi Hua says "soaring demand for Australian food, particularly beef, among China's 100 million wealthy people could buffer Australia's economy from the effects of an end to the mining boom" particularly given the risk that iron ore prices could fall further.

Zijin Mining Group (HK:2899), China’s largest gold producer, announced on Friday that its bid for Australia’s Norton Gold Fields Limited (ASX:NGF) had successfully obtained approval from Australian regulators.

Swiss commodity supplier Glencore International obtained approval from the Canadian federal government on Sunday for its application to buy up Canadian agribusiness titan Viterra Inc., bringing the $6.1 billion deal that much closer to completion.

Dee Woo writes in the Business Insider that the Chinese government no longer has any policy options left, and it must start deleveraging.

China plans to diversify iron ore imports and increase the ratio from independent miners to 50%, according to comments made Wang Xiaoqi, vice-chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association.

“We are looking for a small rebound in the third quarter and a bigger rebound in the fourth quarter.”

The Chinese economy logged 7.6% of growth in the second quarter, falling beneath the 8% threshold for the first time in three years, and hitting its lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, when the global financial crisis was still raging.