China Sept unwrought copper imports hit highest since March
in Freight News 14/10/2017
China’s imports of copper and copper products climbed by 26.5 percent in September from a year ago, Reuters calculations based on customs data showed on Friday, but still remain on course for an annual drop in 2017.
Arrivals of unwrought copper, which includes anode, refined, and semi-finished copper products, stood at 430,000 tonnes last month, according to calculations based on data from the General Administration of Customs.
That ties the import figure from March for the highest monthly level this year. The September volumes are up 10.3 percent from 390,000 tonnes in August, a level that had been hit for four straight months.
Imports for the first three quarters of the year were 3.44 million tonnes, down 9.4 percent from the same period in 2016, customs said. Given a weak first half of the year and expectations of lower demand during the winter months, that keeps the unwrought copper imports for this year on track to fall short of the record 4.94 million tonnes of annual imports in 2016.
CLSA analyst Daniel Meng said he was surprised to see such a big number for September, which comes prices for copper above $6,800 per tonne. “I think in the final three months of demand could be affected by the so-called winter curtailments in the 28 cities around Beijing, because there will likely be some decrease in overall construction activity,” Meng said.
“Most people I talk with still don’t feel that the current fundamentals are supportive enough for the current high copper price,” he said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Joseph Radford and Tom Hogue)
