Global markets are every bit as focussed on developments on key Chinese stock markets at the moment as they are on Greece.

The two principal markets in China, the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Composite resumed their downwards slides and fell 3 percent and 5 percent respectively last night despite major intervention by the Chinese authorities over the weekend to support the market.

Earlier in the year, China enjoyed very strong share price gains largely driven by millions of smaller investors, who may now get badly burned with uncertain consequences. Each market has fallen by about 30 percent since early June and have lost roughly $3 trillion in value since then.

The market woes added to a slowing Chinese real economy have impacted on the price of metals and other global commodities. The price of oil slumped to a three-month low yesterday with Brent Crude currently trading at just over $56 per barrel – down 6 percent.

Meanwhile markets generally are lower but steady in relation to Greece. There’s been a modest widening of the interest rate on Italian and Spanish bonds relative to German bonds while the euro has remained steady at about 1.10 against the dollar and 71p sterling.