BLBG:Copper Imports by China Rise on Increased Seasonal Purchases
Copper imports by China, the world’s largest user, increased in January 2.9 percent from a month earlier as trading firms bought the metal ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday in preparation for a seasonal pick-up in demand during March.
Inbound shipments of refined metal, alloy and products were 351,000 metric tons last month, the General Administration of Customs said on its website today. That compared with 341,211 tons in December, and 413,964 tons a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“Some trading firms have acted early to prepare for a seasonal increase of consumption and avoid being affected by the long holidays in February,” Cao Yanghui, an analyst at Nanhua Futures Co., said by phone from Hangzhou. Feb. 11-15 are public holidays in China.
A government-backed survey of purchasing managers released on Feb. 1 showed manufacturing expanded for a fourth month in January and a separate gauge from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to the highest level in two years, signs the recovery in growth may be gaining momentum. Copper is Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s preferred base metal in 2013, partially because of its exposure to Chinese construction, analyst Eugene King wrote in a report on Feb. 6.
China’s total exports rose 25 percent in January from a year earlier while imports increased 28.8 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of $29.15 billion, the customs administration said today.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Helen Sun in Shanghai at hsun30@bloomberg.net; Feiwen Rong in Beijing at frong2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net
