Overview of China’s Imports and Exports of Metals in September

Quotes of import premiums for warrants stood at $10-$30/mt today. The average price was $20/mt under warrants, which is stable compared with the last trading day.

Hundreds of workers working in Mount Polley copper concentrate near Williams Lake in Columbia, Britain are being recalled.

China rare earth ore imports recorded 14,400 mt in January-February 2022, down 13% YoY which was mainly attributed to middle and heavy rare earth.

The British government said that the measures taken by the US to cancel import tariffs on British steel and aluminium will take effect on June 1.

The SHFE and LME nickel prices diverged markedly in the afternoon trading on Tuesday. The SHFE/LME nickel price ratio shrank from 7.28 to 7.07. The import loss widened to $1,000/mt.

According to General Administration of Customs China imported 8.73 million mt of bauxite in December, up 13.32% month-on-month and 16.4% year-on-year.

Shanghai base metals mostly trended lower on Tuesday morning after US dollar rallied significantly. Meanwhile, their counterparts on LME performed similarly.

Shanghai nonferrous metals mostly closed in the positive territory as the market was cheered up by the macro front, as China released its December official manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI readings, which topped market expectation.

China imported 4.01 million mt of nickel ore and its concentrate in November, a decrease of 10% from the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 12%, According to General Administration of Customs.

The trades remained subdued, and the Yangshan copper premiums changed little. Many trading companies have closed their accounts and are busy with the year-end settlement, lacking purchasing interest for spot cargoes. Import losses fluctuated between 200-400 yuan/mt during the week against the January contract.