China's Copper and Aluminium Imports Down in 2006
By David Harman
31 Jan 2007 at 09:34 AM EST
SHANGHAI (Interfax-China) -- China exports of refined copper hit 243,029 tonnes in 2006, up 73.3% from last year, while copper concentrate imports were down 11% to 3,611,904 tonnes, compared to 2005, according to the Customs General Administration.
China exported 838,286 tonnes of primary aluminium in 2006, while imported aluminium was down 25.7% to 20,144 tonnes compared to 2005, according to statistics released by the Customs General Administration.
In addition, China imported 9,682,777 tonnes of bauxite in 2006, surging 347%, but the country's alumina imports were down 1.5% to 6.911 million tonnes
Shanghai Futures Exchange copper futures reversed yesterday's fall and edged up on Wednesday following similar gains on the London Metals Exchange overnight over a strike vote at a copper mine in Chile.
News that workers at the Cerro Colorado copper mine rejected the pay offer may help offset the rising warehouse stocks in London, analysts said. The market expects Chinese buyers to return after clearing stockpiles. China's copper imports in Dec. rose 59.4% to 95,831 tonnes, signalling a trend to refill the inventory.
Aluminium futures also rose on the SFE in quite active trade. The most traded April future rose to RMB19,340 ($2487.4) which analysts view as largely the result of bargain-hunting.
The tables below reflect China's export and import volumes of copper and aluminium last year.
© Interfax-China 2007
This article comes from Interfax China Commodities Daily, a daily digest produced by Interfax News Agency in Mainland China. To receive 5 free copies of this, please e-mail alison.crawford@interfax.co.uk. |
