China's shenannigans

[Greynomad]

Found this opinion piece interesting while in the Other Colony…
(I hope it enlarges to readable size. Had to do some fiddling to get it to an acceptable file size.)

China article copy.jpeg

[T1 Terry]

Not terribly factual regarding other countries queuing up to take the exports China has made no longer profitable. Many other markets have been found, they just aren't paying the price China paid.
"China's people freeze without our coal" get real, not all the coal that goes to China is thermal coal and that isn't necessarily for heating, more for electricity generation. China has plenty of low grade thermal coal it can use and is doing just that, well as long as the mines stop collapsing. Metallurgical coal is the big one Australia exports to China, not much good for heating but required to make coke for iron and steel production, but that only accounted for 24% of the total export of this type of coal from Australia. A loss of 24% of our exports of this type of coal would hurt, but it wouldn't cripple us. If China gets it from else where, that gap will need to be filled in the world market so if we aren't selling it at top $$ to China, there will be other markets.

If exporters were silly enough to put all the eggs into the China export market, then they will suffer for making such a mistake, while others will learn from it.

T1 Terry

[BruceS]

I'm sorry but I get sick of these reporters creating their own story/drama that effect everyone else negatively except them. (the reporters/networks) That is until they get shot.
Think of Timor?
I like the way he reckons eating goat isn't eating meat!!! haha

[supersparky]

That particular journalist is just another Murdoch pawn that runs to the beat of his masters drum. Unfortunately they just 'report' as they are told to do. Sometimes it is real factual information that they sprout, others times it is made up 'false news' as the Donald used to say.
Today's news said that the iron ore prices had taken a big dive. China will do whatever they want and we will ........

[T1 Terry]

That particular journalist is just another Murdoch pawn that runs to the beat of his masters drum. Unfortunately they just 'report' as they are told to do. Sometimes it is real factual information that they sprout, others times it is made up 'false news' as the Donald used to say.
Today's news said that the iron ore prices had taken a big dive. China will do whatever they want and we will ........

I'm guessing that was the spot price that took a big dive, it has been very high for quite sometime so it had to fall sometime. The wonderful thing about spot markets, it's not a contract, no one has to sell at that price if they don't want to, they can just hold out using the big $$ they made previously and wait it out. It's not like China is the only market for such a commodity, they just had the most money so were paying the highest price to outbid everyone else.

T1 Terry

[supersparky]

I suppose it is a bit like the old wool board or even the wheat board that thought they could hold out for a premium price. The Russians and the Chinese fixed those cruisie little deals way back in the 80's. Australian finished up selling not very much for a few years until everything returned to open market. Cost a lot of wool and grain producers a truck load of dollars. The big player ore sellers have learnt a lot from those events.

[T1 Terry]

They replaced wool with synthetics and blends, when they make synthetic steel it will be a real game changer, the coal can stay in the ground along with the iron ore ..... and multi-billion $$ multi-national corporations will go belly up .... possible, but highly unlikely .... but it really would change the world power base.
Who has the oil no longer dictates who calls the shots, who has the coal no longer means much and I doubt who has the iron ore will be that critical ..... it's who has the control, and that has always been the multi-nationals and no country is strong enough to battle them and win ..... they might have the $$ but not the stranglehold on commodities the multi-nationals have, that is why the govts throughout the world often block take over bids that would fall into foreign govt control, they all know where the real power lies ....

T1 Terry