China's Copper imports rise in Sept; Iron Ore hits highest level since Jan 2011
Metal Recycling News | 2012-10-15 12:36:46
Chinese imports of copper rose in September, said Barclays Capital and Commerzbank in analysis of government data released over the weekend.
By Paul Ploumis
BEIJING (Scrap Monater): Chinese imports of copper rose in September, said Barclays Capital and Commerzbank in analysis of government data released over the weekend.
“Metal imports in September were already relatively strong and proved a positive surprise,” Commerzbank noted.
Copper imports climbed by 11% from the prior month to 394,837 metric tons. “In the first nine months of the year, China thus imported around 3.6 million tons of copper products, 32.6% more than in the same period last year,” the German bank added.
According to Barclays, the imports rose on higher prices. However, they also suggests demand “lagged,” estimating that inventories in bonded warehouses rose by 100,000 tons to 650,000 by the end of September, with imported copper for financing purposes also increasing.
“Copper scrap also continued to recover modestly to 460Kt but remained around the five-year average,” Barclays concluded.
Meanwhile, China’s iron ore shipments rose 4.1% in September to 65.01 million tons, the highest level since January 2011.
