* July gasoline exports down 97 pct vs year ago
* Just 120 tonnes shipped to North Korea in July
* CNPC stopped sales over payment fears - sources
* Iron ore imports in July lowest since Feb (Recasts to lead with gasoline, adds details, changes slug)
By Chen Aizhu
BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) - China's gasoline exports to North Korea evaporated to a dribble in July, according to customs data, the strongest sign yet that the suspension of sales of the fuel by state oil major CNPC has cut critical supplies to its isolated neighbour.
Beijing's General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday Chinese shipments of gasoline dropped 97 percent from a year ago to just 120 tonnes of the fuel - worth little more than $100,000. The number was down from 8,262 tonnes in June.
Monthly fluctuations in the data are not unusual, but this was the fourth-lowest volume on Reuters' records of customs data going back to January 2010.
Customs data also showed China's trade with North Korea fell last month as a ban on coal purchases from its isolated neighbour slowed imports amid growing pressure from the United States to rein in Pyongyang's missile programme. prolonged supply cut would threaten critical supplies of fuel and could force North Korea to find alternatives to its main supplier amid international pressure on Pyongyang to curb its nuclear and missile programmes. the end of June, Reuters reported China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) suspended sales of gasoline and fuel to North Korea over concerns CNPC would not get paid for its goods. Fuel prices in the country surged following the cut and the measure is still in place, people familiar with the matter say. confirms that CNPC has truly stopped supplies," said one Beijing-based trading source familiar with China's oil transactions with North Korea. "The amount is so small, it's what would typically be lost during transportation."
Gasoline typically accounts for the bulk of fuel exports to North Korea, but July data showed the biofuel, ethanol, took the top spot with shipments of 4,137 cubic metres, worth $1.9 million.
Meanwhile China's iron ore imports from North Korea fell sharply in July, the month before the United Nations passed a vote to impose tougher sanctions on Pyongyang. The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea targeting its exports of coal, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood in sanctions to take effect in early September.
Arrivals of iron ore fell 24.5 percent in July from the same month a year earlier to 175,980 tonnes. That's down 21 percent from June and the lowest since February, according to customs' records.
Beijing had pressed traders to stop buying from the country even before the United Nations Security Council vote on further sanctions to rein in Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programme, a sign of China tightening the screws on Pyongyang. July, China bought no coal from North Korea, the fifth month after Beijing halted coal shipments in February.
The table below gives a breakdown of imports and exports of major commodities between the two nations:
July
June 2017 yr-on-yr Jan-July % change
2017
% change 2017
Imports
Coal
0
0
-
2,678,131 -78.6 Iron ore
175,980 224,059
-24.5
1,510,761 41.7 lead ore &
13,090
13,218
29.1
77,407
45.15 concentrates
Exports
4,137
4,126
509
19,734
319.7 Gasoline
120
8,262
-96.5
45,889
-8.8 Diesel
1,162
367
11,515
10,847
-64 Jet fuel
153
140
278.6
1,103
47.4 Other fuel
596
298
-97.2
19,250
-65.26 oil
Fuel No. 5-7 275
844
-41.4
3,953
-8.9 LPG
79
107
302.8
553
75.4 In tonnes except for ethanol in cubic metres
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