Low commodity prices to drag down China's imports: official

BEIJING - Global commodity prices, which have been declining since last year, may continue to drag down China's imports in the latter half of the year, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Shen Danyang said Tuesday.

In the first half, combined imports of 15 commodities monitored by the MOC, including crude oil, natural gas, coal and iron ore, dropped 32 percent year on year to $215.2 billion, MOC data showed.

The decline pulled down overall import growth by 12.6 percentage points, Shen said.

China's imports slumped by 15.5 percent in the first half, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

"In the latter half, global commodity prices will remain at a low level, so China's imports will continue to be relatively low," Shen said.

Shen added that low commodity prices can help cut the costs of Chinese companies and enhance their profitability.

In the first half, China's average import prices dropped more than 10 percent year on year, while export prices stayed flat, according to the MOC.