Japanese cathode copper export increased by 25% to 36,046 tonnes in December from a year earlier, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The export to China increased by 40% to 17,027 tonnes. Arbitrage trade seemed to increase in China when electrolytic copper market price was higher at Shanghai Futures Exchange than at London Metal Exchange.
Copper scrap export maintained steady volume at 25,687 tonnes despite of 6% year-to-year minus. The export to China was 23,286 tonnes, decreasing by 8% year-to-year while increasing slightly from the previous month. Rectified zinc export expanded by 2.3 times to 7,393 tonnes. The export to China jumped by more than four times to 4,151 tonnes. The export to Taiwan also more than doubled to 2,280 tonnes. Aluminium scrap export kept almost flat at 9,683 tonnes. The export to China and South Korea represented slight year-to-year minus while the export to Hong Kong more than doubled to 1,240 tonnes.