Citi: Chinese Copper Imports Likely To Keep Rising Through 4Q

Monday October 13, 2014 11:23 AM

Chinese copper imports picked up last month and may continue to do so for the rest of the year, says Citi Research. Chinese imports of the red metal rose to around 390,000 metric tons in September, a rise from 340,000 and 343,000 tons seen in the previous two months although a year-on-year decline of 14.8%, Citi says. “Given September is typically a stronger month seasonally for imports, this represents only a slight increase (month-on-month) on a seasonally adjusted basis,” Citi says. “We continue to believe that Chinese copper consumption will improve through Q4, supporting copper imports through the remainder of the year.” China’s demand is critical to the global copper market since the country is the world’s No. 1 consumer of the red metal.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com