BLBG Copper May Fall as China’s July Imports Drop From Record High
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Copper, little changed in Asian trading, may slip for a second day in London as China’s imports of the metal dropped from a record in July and the strengthening dollar eased inflation concerns.
The metal declined as much as 1 percent as China’s imports of copper and its products dropped for the first time in six months in July, after higher prices made purchases unprofitable. Imports fell to 406,612 metric tons last month, the Beijing- based customs office said today. That’s down 15 percent from a record amount in June, according to Bloomberg data. Aluminum shipments also fell last month.
“China’s slowdown in purchases is obviously bearish for metals, yet we’ve also got to see how the dollar is moving in the coming days,” Pang Jie, an analyst at Zhejiang Zhongda Futures Co., said by phone today.
Three-month delivery copper on the London Metal Exchange was little changed at $6,145 a metric ton at 2:45 p.m. in Singapore. Copper for November delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell as much as 1.7 percent to 47,880 yuan ($7,005) a ton and closed at 48,480 yuan.
The Dollar Index, a gauge of the U.S. currency’s strength, was little changed today, trading near the highest in more than a week before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on monetary policy today in Washington.
“As market expectations are the U.S. wouldn’t need more money supply to fuel its recovery, the dollar may rebound in the short term and cause a temporary fall in commodity prices,” analysts led by Tan Wentao at HNA Topwin Futures Co. said in an e-mailed report today.
China’s industrial output and urban fixed-asset investment grew less than estimates in July, economic data showed today. That added pressure for policy makers to maintain stimulus spending to revive growth in the world’s third-biggest economy.
Among other LME-traded metals, aluminum was little changed at $1,970 a ton, zinc added 0.3 percent to $1,854.75 a ton and lead dropped 0.3 percent to $1,860 a ton. Nickel was unchanged at $20,200 and tin slid 1 percent to $14,600 as of 2:49 p.m. in Singapore.
