Yantai: Asia’s copper industry is to meet in Hong Kong starting on Tuesday to discuss a market that should be bursting with opportunities after China, the biggest consumer of the metal, called an end to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions strangling its economy. The government’s pledge to raise economic growth, and an increasingly outsized contribution to demand from its rapid build out of clean energy, have spurred optimism that China’s reopening would help offset weaker activity elsewhere in the world. However, the reality on the ground is much gloomier as traders seek evidence of a uptick in consumption that has so far proved elusive in the months since Beijing lifted its “zero COVID” curbs. “Many people in the industry are disappointed by Chinese demand so far this year,” said Shen Haihua, a portfolio manager at Hong Kong-based hedge fund Entropy Asset Management Ltd. “I think most specialists are on the short side.” The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) gathering is its first in-person meeting in Asia since the pandemic struck, convening more than a thousand executives, traders, bankers and analysts to chew over the latest industry news, and wine and dine old friends in the territory’s bars and restaurants. Less than two months ago, few were betting against copper’s prospects after the world’s top trader of the metal, Trafigura Group, told a conference in London that it expects prices to hit a record within a year. What has changed is a slew of data indicating that China’s recovery is losing momentum. A survey of purchasing managers showed the factory sector contracting last month for the first time this year, while copper imports dropped to their lowest since October last year. Web Desk
Chinese imports of the metal in the first four months are lagging 13 percent behind the pace set last year, when copper purchases boomed despite generally weaker demand for other commodities.
The metal is down about 8 percent on the LME so far this quarter. It on Friday fell 3.68 percent to US$8,163.50 per tonne.
