Japan Copper and Zinc Import Up in September

Japanese import of electrolytic copper (cathode copper) increased by 12.5% to 5,715 tonnes in September from a year ago, according to a trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The averaged unit price of imported copper downed by 1.3% when overseas copper market declined due to US subprime lending problem.Zinc import increased by 39.6% for ingot with above 99.99% purity and jumped up to 11 times for ingot with less than 99.99% purity in September from a year earlier. Zinc demand was firm when domestic production of galvanized steel sheet keeps active.The import represented year-to-year decrease for primary aluminium and aluminium scrap in September when domestic production of aluminium rolled products was decreasing under the influence of Japanese building standard law revision. Electrolytic lead import halved in September from a year ago due to the export regulation in Australia, the world largest lead supplier. Tin and nickel imports also decreased in September.