Japan Nonferrous Metal Imports Weaken in February

Japanese nonferrous metal imports weakened in February, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. Primary aluminium ingot import decreased by 26% to 107,760 tonnes from a year earlier, the lowest volume since August 2009. Aluminium alloy ingot, mainly used for automobiles, increased by 9.8% to 70,657 tonnes from a year earlier but the volume represented the lowest in the latest year.

Cathode copper import was 3,368 tonnes in February. The volume represented the recently normal level while jumped by 86% from a year earlier due to remarkably low import in February 2010. Copper scrap import in February was 5,919 tonnes. The import increased by 29% year-on-year but the volume continued to decrease from 10,107 tonnes in October 2010.

As for nonferrous metal exports, cathode copper almost halved to 26,456 tonnes in February from a year earlier. The export to China dropped by 60% to 13,000 tonnes. China’s demand for Japanese cathode copper seemed to be weak when copper market price became lower at Shanghai Futures Exchange than at London Metal Exchange.

Copper scrap export increased by 73% to 26,281 tonnes, which represented the first year-on-year plus since January 2010. Offshore users seemed to increase scrap procurement when copper market price was strong and scrap price was expected to rise. Aluminium scrap export increased by 11% to 9,199 tonnes. The export for China increased by 45% to 6,800 tonnes due to strong demand from secondary aluminium alloy makres.