Commodity rally threatens to erode US$460b China bonus

Shanghai

CHINA got a US$460 billion break annually during the collapse in commodity costs, so this year's rally in everything from oil to iron ore is starting to erode the bonus of cheap imports.

That complicates President Xi Jinping's efforts to prop up faltering growth in the world's second-largest economy. Rising prices take money from consumers who use more food, energy and metals than any others in the world. It also increases inflationary pressure, limiting the scope of the country's central bank to stimulate the economy through further monetary easing.

"Any significant upturn in commodity prices such as oil and gas and iron ore would therefore…