China’s property bubble

With iron ore prices still falling and coking coal at low depths, there are few hopes that China’s property market will lift steel demand and help out these key Australian export commodities.

A column by The Guardian even claims that China’s property market is on the brink of collapse.

“In the past few months there have been a number of worrying signs that the booming Chinese real estate market is about to burst,” the newspaper commented.

“For example, the Wall Street Journal recently reported a Chinese study that found in 2013 22.4% of houses in China’s urban areas were vacant – up from 20.6% in 2011.

“This suggests a fairly serious glut of houses in China. And when there is an oversupply of something, the price for that item inevitably falls.

“In July, monthly residential house prices rose in only six of the 70 major Chinese cities.

“If we look at the growth of residential housing prices across five of the major Chinese cities, the drop-off in prices is clear to see.

“The decline has also occurred in commercial buildings, with the growth of sales in commercial buildings for the first seven months of this year 8.4% below what was achieved last year.

“Similarly, the growth rate of investment in real estate development has dropped off.

“This time last year it was growing at around 19% year on year – now it is down to 13.7%.”

India coal block allocations

With the Indian Supreme Court’s decision on the fate of the “illegally” allocated captive coal blocks made, Indian Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said the government was ready to comply and ensure “quick action” to provide adequate coal supplies to every power plant.

According to the Indian Express, Goyal told reporters the government had inherited a host of legacy issues in coal mining and power generation and that the first 100 days were spent drawing detailed roadmaps and initiating steps to get coal feedstock to power plants.

The Minister declined to give any timeframe on when the auction of coal blocks would begin.

No dump deal done

The Queensland government is to strike a deal with Indian companies Adani and GVK to dump 3 million cubic metres of dredge waste from Abbot Point coal terminal onshore rather than in the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Financial Review reports.

“It protects the environment and allows the Galilee Basin projects and Abbot Point to go ahead,” the paper quotes Newman as saying.

The companies want to begin dredging in March.

Under the deal the dredge spoil will be dumped at BHP Billiton’s former site, known as T2.