Even if the economic data is not good, it is difficult to stop the rise of copper prices.
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According to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Friday, China’s copper imports fell in October. China's refined copper imports in October fell 45% year-on-year, down 22% from the previous month to the lowest level in more than three years.
But this did not stop the copper gains. Last Friday, copper prices closed at a 17-month high. Although copper prices fell slightly on Monday, the most active March copper futures closed down 0.4% to $2.6700 per pound.
China is the world's largest consumer of copper, with annual copper consumption accounting for about 45% of the global total. Therefore, China's economic data usually has a big impact on copper prices.
In January, China’s economic slowdown slowed copper prices down to below $2 a pound. Since then, investors have begun to pay attention to the signs that China's demand is improving as the economy stabilizes.
Last month, Chinese factory activity increased to the highest level in two years, which triggered the rise in copper prices. After the US presidential candidate Trump won the election, investors began to smash US metal demand because he fulfilled the promise of choice to increase the US foundation. Investment in facilities has increased.
Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini said that the decline in China's metal imports and the cyclical rise in corporate activity have been inconsistent.
The analyst said that China's October copper imports may be the result of increased domestic refined copper output, which led to a weakening of China's demand for imported copper.
Citi analysts said in a report, "This is because despite the decline in China's refined copper imports, copper concentrate imports have increased during the same period, which highlights that China's copper demand is still increasing, but perhaps copper self-sufficiency rate is Pick up."
Simona Gambarini said that China had a week-long long holiday in October, which may be one of the reasons for the decline in China's copper imports in October.
Barclays Capital said in a report, "We believe that China's copper demand will further increase. In the next few months, China's copper imports are expected to be higher than October." However, after the recent rise in copper prices, some analysts have worried. There may be too many speculative speculators in the copper market, especially those who are from China.
Carsten Menke, a commodities analyst at Julius Baer, ​​said, "We still believe that the rise in industrial metals is the result of improved market sentiment rather than fundamental factors. Although the improvement in US economic growth prospects will bring some support to metal prices."