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Chinese Copper Demand Will Moderate, Not Disappear -Rio Tinto

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:01:28 -0000

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Chinese demand for commodities, and copper in particular, won't disappear but will moderate in the near term, Bret Clayton, chief executive of copper at Rio Tinto PLC (RTP) said Wednesday.

Tags: china copper rio tinto trends

Posted by: bennett

Chinese Copper Producers' Shrinking Margins

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:07:48 -0000

Comments:

H1 reports from China’s metal companies have revealed difficult operating conditions as rising energy prices, investment in environmental protection and an increase in resource tax have squeezed margins. Shares in the metal index fell 58.6% in the first half of the year, underperforming the SSE Composite Index which saw a 48% decrease. Copper companies fared better than most as the copper price remained at historically high levels and prices of sulphuric acid – a byproduct of the copper treatment process - soared. Jiangxi Copper, China’s biggest producer, reported strong results with a 55% surge in revenues year-on-year. Net profit grew at the slower rate of 32.8%, reducing the company’s profit margin to 10.4%, from 12.1% in the first half of 2007. The company has a slightly bearish outlook for the rest of this year, as the continued slowdown in the global economy takes its toll on copper demand and the appreciation of the dollar puts downward pressure on copper prices. However, it suspects copper supply will remain tight, which should support prices on the downside. Yunnan Copper Company struggled in the first half as revenue fell 18.9% and net profit plunged 29.5% y-o-y. The companies profit margin was cut to 3.8%, from 4.4% in the first half of 2007. A 45-day machine overhaul was blamed for the poor sales figures as output remained flat, whilst high energy prices pushed up production costs. Tongling Nonferrous Metals saw similar problems to Yunnan as rising raw material prices and fluctuations in the copper price cut the gross margin in the firm’s copper unit to just 0.59%. Company-wide results were improved greatly by the strong performance of sulphuric acid, where gross margin increased to 71.6%, bringing Tongling’s profit margin to 2.9%, up from 2.0% in H1 2007. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper trends

Posted by: wpratt

China Refined Copper Imports Decline 1% in August, Customs Says-China Mining

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:54:00 -0000

China imported 87,168 metric tons of the metal last month, the Beijing-based customs office said, citing revised final data. Imports were 88,075 tons in July,

Tags: china copper trends

Posted by: bennett

Hailiang to Establish Vietnam Subsidiary

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:21:45 -0000

Comments:

Zhejiang Hailiang Co Ltd announced plans to build a high copper production line, with annual capacity of 71,000 tons, under the newly established Hailiang (Vietnam) Copper Co Ltd. The subsidiary will receive total investment of US$40m, which comprises US$32.69m cash capital and US$7.31m equipment capital. As well as transferring its domestic production line, which has an annual capacity of 35,000 tons, Hailiang will also upgrade the Vietnam facility, adding a further 36,000 tons to the new operation. The Hailiang (Vietnam) plant is expected to be operational within one year. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

China’s Refined Copper Output Down 0.5% in August

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:14:40 -0000

Comments:

Difficulties securing raw materials led to a 0.5% y-o-y drop in output of refined copper, to 320,000t, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC). A downturn in demand coupled with increasing raw materials prices has produced very difficult operating conditions, with one Henan-based trader commenting that, “unless the Shanghai copper price recovers, the fall in Chinese copper output is likely to extend until September.” Over the first eight months of 2008, refined copper output increased to 2.47m tonnes, or by 15% on last year. However, some are beginning to question China’s ability to sustain the rapid rate of growth it has shown recently, leading to a drop-off in demand. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

Murchison sells Midwest stake to Sinosteel

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:58:31 -0000

Murchison has sold its 9.2% stake in Midwest Corp to Sinosteel for $107 million following Sinosteel’s takeover of Midwest.

Posted: Thursday , 11 Sep 2008

SYDNEY (Reuters) -

Australian iron ore prospector Murchison Metals Ltd has sold its 9.2 percent stake in fellow Australian firm Midwest Corp to China's Sinosteel for about A$135 million ($107 million).

The move follows Sinosteel's $1.3 billion takeover of Midwest earlier this year, which defeated a plan by Murchison to merge with Midwest. The two Australian firms are neighbours in the as-yet undeveloped Yilgarn iron ore mining region of west Australia.

Murchison said in a statement on Thursday the sale of the Midwest shares is in the best interests of the company, especially given significant changes in world financial markets over the past three months.

"The cash raised through the sale gives Murchison greater flexibility in relation to both developing existing projects and in pursuing fresh opportunities," Murchison Executive Chairman Paul Kopejtka said in the statement.

Tags: china

Posted by: gulfcoast

China Copper Imports Down 4% in August

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:41:18 -0000

Comments:

The latest figures released on the Chinese Customs’ website show imports of unwrought copper and semi-finished copper products in August fell 4% month-on-month, to 178,047 tonnes. The fall comes despite many traders predicting an increase as prices on the international markets fell relative to the SHME price. One analyst commented on the news that, “the Olympics probably depressed imports even though the narrowing of the spread should have supported them. Chinese stocks are low and prices in Shanghai are pretty firm so we could see a bounce in September.” posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper trends

Posted by: wpratt

Shanghai copper down 2 pct, LME bounces

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:42:51 -0000

SINGAPORE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper fell around 2 percent on Monday but it lagged behind a 4.5 percent slide in London prices after big jumps in inventories on Friday.

But prices in London bounced on Monday, lifted by gains in other other commodity markets as the dollar lost ground against the euro after the U.S. government on Sunday seized control of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae (nyse: FNM - news - people ) and Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE - news - people ), which own or guarantee half of all U.S. mortgages.

LME copper rose $75 or 1.1 percent, to $6,975 at 0232 GMT, while Shanghai November copper dropped 1,030 yuan to 55,630 yuan ($8,130) and earlier touched a nine-month low.

Tags: china copper

Posted by: gulfcoast

Chilean copper mining giant seeks joint venture with Chinese company - People's Daily Online

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:22:02 -0000

The Chilean state-owned copper firm Nacional del Cobre (Codelco) is seeking a joint venture with Chinese company MinMetals to explore minerals in African and Asian countries.

Tags: china codelco mining

Posted by: bennett

China economy "slowing but resilient," HSBC report says - People's Daily Online

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:20:39 -0000

China's economy will maintain strong growth thanks to resilient investment and exports and the government's strong fiscal position, an HSBC report said on Wednesday.

Tags: china

Posted by: bennett

China copper demand set to revive after Olympics - Rusmet.com

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:05:08 -0000

"This is a seasonally slow time of year and the Olympics have had a big effect," said Michael Widmer, analyst at Lehman Brothers. "Demand for copper should pick up as we go into September, we may see some restocking in China."

Tags: china trends

Posted by: bennett

Chinalco’s 300ktpa Yunnan Facility Underway

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:30:31 -0000

Comments:

On August 19th, Chinalco began work on its 300 ktpa copper semis facility in Kunming, Yunnan Province. The company’s three existing processing sites, Chinalco Luoyang Copper, Chinalco Shanghai Copper and Chinalco Daye Copper Sheet & Strip, account for around 28% of China’s total copper sheet and strip capacity, with a combined total of 130 ktpa, and 220 ktpa of expansions under construction. The new facility, with total investment of RMB2 billion, will comprise a 100 ktpa sheet and strip facility and a 200 ktpa wire and rod facility. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper trends

Posted by: wpratt

China To Subsidize Wind Turbines

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:58:42 -0000

China will begin subsidizing the production of wind power turbines, according to an announcement made last Friday.

The subsidy will only be available to Chinese majority-owned turbine manufacturers, who will be eligible to receive $88 per kilowatt for the first 50 units capable of generating at least 1.5 megawatts of power. In addition, the subsidy can only be used for research and development.

This is the first Chinese subsidy specifically focusing on the wind power industry and it is meant to make Chinese companies more competitive with turbine makers like GE (NYSE: GE) in the U.S., Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.CO) in the Netherlands and India's Suzlon (SUZL.BO).

Tags: china wind

Posted by: gulfcoast

Yunnan Copper H1 Profit Down 30%

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:30:40 -0000

Comments:

Yunnan Copper blamed lower copper prices, high energy and raw materials costs and a 45-day machine overhaul for a 29.5% year-on-year drop in profit, to RMB546 million (US$80 million), in the first six months of the year. “The sluggish economy led to a slowdown in copper consumption, causing a corresponding drop in cathode prices. Meanwhile costs of energy and raw materials increased in the first half year, which also curbed our profits,” said the company. These results come in stark contrast to the 35% increase in H1 profit seen at Jiangxi Copper, another big Chinese smelter. Market sources put the difference down to the varying cost of copper production between smelters, as Yunnan’s profits fell despite a 21.7% y-o-y increase in cathode output to 875,000t. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

Jiangxi Copper H1 Earnings up 32%

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:38:49 -0000

Comments:

Higher sulphuric acid prices, up almost 200% on a year ago, to 1500 yuan per tonne, provided a big boost to China’s largest integrated copper producer. Revenues contributed by sulphuric acid, a by-product of copper smelting, amounted to 1.66billion yuan in H1, a 521% increase year-on-year. Jiangxi Copper posted H1 net profit of 2.77billion yuan, an increase of 32% on the same period in 2007. The company expects demand for its products to slow in the second half of the year with global economic growth struggling to gain momentum. However, Jiangxi remain confident that copper prices will stay high as a result of, “the shortage of copper concentrates supply around the world and the downgrade of copper concentrates.” Factors expected to put pressure on Jiangxi’s profit margin over the second half of the year include falling smelter processing fees, as a result of global over-capacity and tight supply of concentrates, and a cut in output of semi-finished products due to China’s ongoing power shortages. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

Battling BHP and Rio to post record profits

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:14:46 -0000

Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto should post record half-year profits as they reap the benefits of an industrial commodities boom, and are likely to use the results to bolster their arguments in a $123 billion (66 billion pound) takeover stand-off.

Both are also likely to outline big expansions in key profit sectors such as copper and iron ore, where analysts predict higher prices next year on the back of strong demand for imported raw materials from China's industrial sector.

Consenus figures based on forecasts by 20 analysts and provided by BHP point to a 12 percent rise in annual net profit to $15.4 billion, suggesting second-half profit will have risen 30 percent to $9.4 billion from $7.2 billion previously.

Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates forecast Rio's January-June underlying profit will have risen 40 percent to $5.2 billion. BHP's financial year ends June 30, while Rio follows the calendar year.

Tags: bhp china copper rio tinto

Posted by: gulfcoast

Jiangxi Copper Co to cut semis output 20-30%

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:36:13 -0000

Comments:

Jiangxi Copper announced that it will, “cut the production of semi-finished products by 20-30% in August,” following a request from the local authorities that it reduce its power consumption. The company has the capacity to produce 700,000tpy of refined copper and 370,000tpy of semis. The company said that it would “try to maintain normal production of refined copper,” and that it would, “cut imports of refined copper as production of semi-finished products fell.” posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

Chinese semis imports down 12% y-o-y

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:50:53 -0000

Comments:

Chinese imports of unwrought and semi-finished copper products for the period January to July were down 12% y-o-y, to 1.51 million tonnes, according to preliminary data from Chinese Customs. The fall comes despite a 7% month-on-month increase in July, which was the result of a decrease in the price differential between Chinese and international copper prices. Scrap imports in the first 7 months of 2008 were up 14.5% y-o-y, to 3.42 million tonnes. posted by wpratt

Tags: china copper

Posted by: wpratt

End of easy carbon trading?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:17:09 -0000

LONDON, UK, August 12, 2008. Analyst New Energy Finance says the days of easy carbon trading may be over as the low hanging fruit of the cheap carbon credits in the developing world have now been harvested.

To date, the cheapest way of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have come from projects eliminating high global warming potential (GWP) gases in developing countries, notably China.

These projects involve the destruction of two waste gases from industrial facilities: the hydrofluorocarbon HFC-23 and nitrous dioxide, or ‘laughing gas’ (N2O), both of which are several thousand times more potent in terms of global warming that CO2.

The size of the emissions reductions achievable from these projects relative to the scale of the investment required, that these carbon credits are so cheap – around €1/tCO2e.

In comparison, costs claimed by project developers of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are €5-15 per tonne and the global market price for carbon countries from developing countries are around €20/tCO2e.

Tags: china

Posted by: gulfcoast

China reverting to form as the world's workshop

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:05:23 -0000

China is set to overtake the US next year as the world's largest producer of manufactured goods, four years earlier than expected, as a result of the rapidly weakening US economy.

The great leap is revealed in forecasts for the Financial Times by Global Insight, a US economics consultancy. According to the estimates, next year China will account for 17 per cent of manufacturing value-added output of $11,783bn (£6,130bn) and the US will make 16 per cent.

Tags: china manufacturing trends

Posted by: bennett