Imports of refined copper into China fell 41 percent in the first nine months of this year as prices in London soared to a record in May. Shanghai futures fell 3.8 percent last week to settle at their lowest since September.
``To copper users in China, the current price looks attractive, and they've got demand,'' Yu Mengguo, metal futures trader at Jinpeng Futures Co., said by phone from Beijing today.
Copper for delivery in January on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 130 yuan, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 67,790 yuan ($8,604) when trading ended at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Benchmark London Metal Exchange copper for delivery in three months gained $5, or 0.1 percent, to $7,335 a ton at 7:37 a.m. local time.
``Demand on the physical copper market remained quite healthy in China,'' said Yuan Fang, metal futures trader at Shanghai Dongya Futures Co. ``Declining stockpiles also provided the futures prices some support.''
Copper stockpiles in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses fell 12.6 percent last week to 30,410 tons, the lowest in more than six months, the exchange said Nov. 3. Aluminum stockpiles fell by 16.6 percent to 29,638 tons last week.
Metal for immediate delivery in Changjiang, Shanghai's biggest spot market, traded little changed between 69,000 and 69,200 yuan.
Aluminum Prices
Rising aluminum prices also supported copper, said Zhou Jie, metals trader at China International Futures (Shanghai) Co.
Aluminum in Shanghai for delivery in January gained 230 yuan, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 20,080 yuan at 3:00 p.m. Shanghai time.
Copper for delivery in December fell 0.25 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $3.32 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, in after-hours electronic trading at 7:40 a.m. London time.
A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price for a specific delivery date.
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