Copper Stockpiles Dropping 50% in China May Spur Ihttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-15/copper-users-in-china-plunder-stockpiles-as-goldman-forecasts-record-rally.html
Copper stockpiles in China, theworld’s biggest consumer of the metal, may have dropped 50percent in the past two months, potentially spurring moreimports and higher prices.
Inventories in bonded warehouses, used to store shipmentsbefore duties are paid, may have declined to about 300,000metric tons, according to estimates from traders and analysts inChina including Shanghai East Asia Futures Co. The warehouses,whose holdings aren’t disclosed, contained about 600,000 tons atthe end of March, according to Standard Bank Plc.
Increased shipments into China, which represents about 40percent of global demand, may mean a rebound in prices that fell9.8 percent from a record in February. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)anticipates copper trading at an all-time high of $11,000 a tonin 12 months as mining companies fail to keep pace with demand.
“Metal has been leaving the bonded warehouses at quite asteady pace because it is the peak-demand season,” said JiaZheng, a trader at Shanghai East Asia. “China is still growing,which is keeping demand robust.”