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Chinas imports of copper Gain first time in four months
Copper imports by China, the world’s largest consumer, climbed for the first time in four months as arbitrage traders sought profits by buying the metal in London and selling it in Shanghai.
Shipments of copper and products gained 4.5 percent in July from June to
342,901 metric tons, the customs office said today. Imports were 16
percent below the same month last year, according to Bloomberg
calculations.
Buyers have reduced shipments since April as they drained domestic
inventories. Stockpiles at warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures
Exchange dropped to the lowest level in six months as of July 30,
according to the bourse. Copper is used to make wires and pipes for
construction and manufacturing.
“The slight gain is in line with market expectations,” said Pang Ying,
an analyst at Shenzhen Rongtuo Trading Co. “The arbitrage window opened
for a while, encouraging some traders to make use of it.”
Arbitrage had been profitable from the end of May to early July, and
shipping usually takes up to one-and-a-half months, Pang said.
Copper stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai exchange fell to 104,507
tons in the week ended July 30, the lowest since January, bourse data
showed. Stocks rose 1.8 percent to 106,368 tons last week.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange settled at
$7,425 a ton yesterday before release of the trade data, and declined
1.2 percent to $7,338.25 a ton at 3:38 p.m. in Shanghai.
‘Window Closed’
“The arbitrage window has closed since late July, so imports in August
will probably be steady or fall a little,” if it remains shut, said Lu
Chenghong, an analyst at Giger Capital Management Ltd.
Copper supplies may not be able to catch up with demand next year for
the first time in four years, as China sustains buying while ore grades
decline, said Pan Pacific Copper Co., Japan’s largest smelter.
Hidenori Kamoo, general manager of the marketing department of the
company, forecast the market to be balanced this year because of China’s
higher-than-expected first-half demand and a 300,000-ton surplus next
year.
China also imported 380,000 tons of scrap copper in July, compared with
350,000 tons in June, the Beijing-based customs said. Imports of
aluminum and the metal’s products fell 9.6 percent to 67,462 tons from
74,582 tons the previous months, the figures show.
–Helen Sun. With assistance from Jae Hur and Ichiro Suzuki in Tokyo. Editors: Richard Dobson, Jarrett Banks.
Source: Bloomberg
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