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/ 178.36.43.* / 2011-01-26 15:22
Imports of refined copper by China, the largest user, will probably drop for a second year as record prices spur consumption of scrap, said Maike Futures Co.
Net purchases may decline by 4.5 percent to 2.75 million metric tons this year from 2.88 million tons in 2010, Ren Gang, head of Maike’s research department, said in an interview yesterday. They fell 7.4 percent last year. The broker is a unit of Maike Metal International Group, a Xian-based metals company that trades as much as 500,000 tons a year, its website said.
Copper had its biggest drop in more than two months yesterday, falling 2.9 percent in London to $9,250 a ton, the lowest close since Dec. 20, on concern China may take further steps to cool its economy and curb inflation.