8 August 2022 – Exports from China jumped 18% year-on-year in July 2022. At the same time, demand for copper, considered a key economic indicator, has increased. While fresh warnings are coming out of Europe that copper and zinc could be in short supply, LME inventories of the base metals keep falling.
Exports from China are on the move
Unexpectedly, China’s export growth accelerated in July, providing a positive boost to the economy as it fights to rebound from a COVID-caused slowdown.
Exports increased 18.0 percent in July compared to the same month last year, the strongest rate this year, according to official customs statistics released on Sunday. This was higher than the 17.9 percent growth in June and beyond experts’ predictions of a 15.0 percent increase.
One of the best performers of economic growth for China in 2022 has been exports yet.
However, there were indications that COVID limits’ impact on the transportation and supply chain was beginning to lessen, which came at the perfect moment for shippers preparing for the high holiday shopping season.
According to figures issued by the domestic port association, the throughput of foreign trade containers at eight main Chinese ports increased by 14.5 percent in July, accelerating from the 8.4 percent increase in June.
China’s copper imports increased year over year in July
ShFE copper inventory CU-STX-SGH decreased by 78% from March to a low of 37,025 tonnes on Friday, the lowest level since January 21.
China imported 3.41 million tonnes of unwrought copper and copper in the first seven months of 2022, up 5.8% from the same period in 2017.
Chinese copper users and traders took advantage of the price reduction to hastily restock their depleted supplies. A crucial economic indicator is frequently mentioned as being copper.
In order to boost economic growth, Chinese authorities are undertaking infrastructure projects that depend heavily on metals and injecting stimulus expenditure into the economy.
Chinese authorities are pumping stimulus spending into the economy and launching metals-intensive infrastructure projects to lift economic growth.
Copper and zinc exhibit robust
As concerns about a worldwide recession subsided and investors concentrated on low inventories and supply-side risks, copper also continued to recover on Friday.
Analysts claim that there is a far greater shortage of copper than there was two years ago. So tight, in fact, that the fourth quarter might see shortages.
Consumers of metals who have been waiting for lower prices will now need to act quickly to restock their inventories as soon as they discover that prices have stabilized, and not only for copper.
The commodity group Glencore had previously warned that there would be severe zinc shortages.
The majority of LME inventories are at record-low levels. At 128,600 tonnes, copper stocks have decreased by over 30% since mid-May. In the past three months, LME zinc stockpiles have practically halved. Due to concerns about the availability, zinc prices abroad have already drastically increased.
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