Mongolian Economy and Finance

Well, that was shortlived. The rally that had investors clambering back into mining stocks came to an abrupt end today, as disappointing export data from China showed continuing signs of weakness in the world’s top commodities consumer.

INCREASED Chinese mineral production is just as much a cause for the slide in prices as the aggressive expansions by western mining companies, says Investec’s global mining strategist Jeremy Wrathall.

Here is one interpretation of when we’ll run out of each metal or energy source.

Ng Weng Hoong explains why investor interest in Mongolia is falling.

One of the major themes in the base metals markets so far this year has been the wide degree of price divergence as individual metals increasingly respond to specific supply-demand drivers.

What a difference six months can make.

The benchmark iron ore price was hammered again on Wednesday, capping an awful April which saw the steelmaking raw material lose almost 10% in value.

Markets were shocked on Thursday by surprisingly weak trade data from China, the world’s second largest economy, that showed overall imports falling by double digits and exports declining 6.6%.

October 14, 2013 - As some tell it, the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar used to be full of bankers and consultants all trying to get a piece of the action in a country expected to become a serious resources player.

AUSTRALIA is more exposed to a slowing Chinese economy than any nation except its neighbour Mongolia, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

David Jacks from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and the Massachusetts-based National Bureau of Economic Research has a new paper out called From Boom to Bust which looks at real commodity prices on a very long time horizon.

Patricia Mohr, Scotiabank’s commodity market specialist, made the case for higher or resilient prices for commodities, including copper, potash and uranium, in the near and longer term.

The global boom in commodity prices is over and Australia must improve productivity in order to remain competitive, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said.

According to the Asian market experts, Mongolia is going to be a major future supplier of commodities from coal through gold to copper – and maybe even crude oil, with a subsidiary of PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) and others developing deposits in the Eastern Gobi Desert.

Not surprisingly – given metal price performance at the time – the audience at the New York Hard Assets Investment Conference was a little depressed.

Hailed as one of the last frontiers for resources exploration, the central Asian country is thought to have $1.3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, including coal, copper, iron ore, zinc and gold, beneath its vast deserts and steppes.

Miner Rio Tinto has told investors it is listening to their worries over spending on major new projects, even as it warned of the ensuing risks to supply, as soaring costs and clamouring stakeholders eat away at incentives to build mines.

May 3 (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific steel and aluminium companies may face credit downgrades as their profits suffer due to a supply glut and weak demand as global growth slows, rating agency Standard & Poor's warned on Thursday.

Chinese aluminum smelters may idle their annual capacity by one-third, the most in three years, as energy costs soar and prices slump.

The Silk Routes, collectively known as the “Silk Road”, refer to a 7000 mile network of interlinking trade routes that were used for three millennia.