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Preliminary data from China Customs indicates that imports of copper (comprised of blister, cathode, alloys and semis) to China reached 462,182t in March 2012. This represents a 4.6% fall from 484,569t in February 2012, but a 51.9% increase from 304,299t in March 2011. Q1 2012 imports of copper to China reached 1,360,715t, up 50.5% from 904,002t in Q1 last year. Meanwhile, imports of copper scrap in March 2012 totalled 430,000t, up 7.5% m-o-m and up 10.3% y-o-y, taking Q1 copper scrap imports to 1,060,000t, a 6.4% y-o-y rise.

According to Chinese customs figures, imports of copper reached 508,942t in December, up 18% m-o-m. This is the seventh consecutive month which saw a m-o-m increase in the level of copper imports. The growth has been accredited to the arbitrage between the LME and the SHFE. Nevertheless, China's total imports of copper in 2011 were down 5.1% y-o-y, reaching 4.07Mt.

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,

China imported 180,500 tons of refined copper in January, up 41.3 percent on year. And the import volume of last December hit a high of 211,500 tons.

U.S. copper imports rose in March and should remain strong for the rest of year, boosted by a revival in the moribund housing sector. The uptrend in imports of the key industrial metal, widely used in construction and automobile manufacturing, is expected to continue in the coming months. Analysts see it as a good sign for the economy. "You're starting to see some of the stimulus taking place," said Michael Gross, futures analyst with Optionsellers.com in Tampa, Florida.

Chinese imports of refined copper and copper products increased to 364,420t in January 2011. The numbers surpassed earlier expectations based on the closed arbitrage window and the Chinese New Year festive season. Imports were up by 5.7% from December 2010 and 24.7% from January 2010. The fact that Chinese copper buying was stronger than expected in the last three months implies that tightening monetary policies had little impact on copper demand.

Chinese imports of copper and copper semis contracted by 36% m-o-m to 235,500t in February 2011, according to customs statistics. The figure was also down by 27% from the same period a year ago. It was reported that utilisation rates of copper semis makers declined after the Chinese New Year, and therefore copper consumption fell. In addition, some semis fabricators had built stock before the festive season, which impacted imports in February. On anticipation of surging copper prices, imports were very strong in January and that led to high inventory levels in Shanghai bonded warehouses.

"Energy efficiency programs are extremely important now, and they will continue to be important as long as the investments made by customers and the programs offered by utilities remain cost-effective."

Data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs on 13th November showed that imports of copper, including alloys and semis, totalled 321,879t in October, 16.1% lower than the same period last year. October's imports of copper, which cover a period including an extended national holiday, were the lowest in 15 months.

It was reported by China's General Administration of Customs that the nation's imports of refined copper, copper alloy and other copper products grew to 452,022t in November 2011. This represents a 17.9% m-o-m growth and the highest level of imports in 20 months. The increase is believed to be the result of Chinese buyers restocking following the collapse in copper prices in September.

"Conflict mining remains an important issue, and one we are beginning to see governments step in to address in different ways. With the global economy as interconnected as ever, it's important to note that many of the products and technologies we use in our daily lives begin at the same source: mines. With leading companies across industries such as electronics, retail and jewelry, auto manufacturing, lighting aerospace, construction, and other industries relying on these commonly used 3TG metals - tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold - implementing effective regulation is essential in order to further advance support to eliminate or reduce human rights violation."

According to China's General Administration of Customs, inbound shipments of refined copper amounted to 224,723 tonnes in July 2010. The figure represented a 6% increase from the previous month and a 23% decline from year ago levels. Increased demand for imports in June was largely a result of arbitrage opportunities, which enabled traders to generate profits by buying copper from London and selling it to Shanghai.

Top Trends for 2009: On our GloboTrends wiki homepage, we will keep an updated list of global macro trends that we think are the most important to keep an eye on. Some of this list are statistically unlikely to occur, but if they did, it could cause global disruption. These unlikely events were dubbed Black Swan's in a book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb , or might be called the "fat tail" probability in statistics. Others trends we are watching in the GloboTrends wiki are currently ongoing right now (such as our coverage of the credit crisis, deleveraging, margin calls, etc), and we will talk about how they happened, and predict their likely outcome. The format of a wiki makes the document dynamic, so any of our community is welcome to help shape our views of these important developments. Please log in to our wiki, and feel free to comment... In no particular order, here are the global macro trends that we think will be most significant in the coming year (2009): 1. credit crisis of 2007/08 will continue on into 2009...this one is clear...but, how long will it last? how will it fundamentally change international finance? Add your comments to our wiki... 2. fiscal stimulus and crisis recovery 2009 3. deleveraging of Financial markets will continue. In my opinion, this is the most destructive of all the trends. 4. Risk of deflation in the US as Fed Funds target rate approaches zero (other analysts see the opposite risk of potential hyper inflation). Add your comments.. 5. more... add to this list.. Predictions-for-2009

The Japan Copper & Brass Association reported Japanese copper rolled product import fell by 2.5% y-o-y to 50,057t in the fiscal year ending March 2008. While volume of import was still high, it has fallen y-o-y the first time since the fiscal year ending March 2002. Copper tube import decreased by 19% y-o-y to 10,661t, partly due to the slowdown of new housing starts after the Japanese imposed new building standard law. Biggest importers to Japan are reported to be South Korea, China, Germany, Taiwan and North America.

According to the Japan Copper and Brass Association, total production of copper and copper alloy semis fell by 4.1% y-o-y to 72,770t in July. Output also contracted by 0.5% m-o-m in July, a second consecutive monthly decline. The fall is attributed in large part to the struggling automotive sector, which has been strongly impacted by the 11th March disaster.

Production for domestic shipments contracted by 6.6% y-o-y to reach 51,112t, whilst output for export markets fell more rapidly in January, reaching 8,898t after a 23.1% y-o-y decline (this however, was narrower than the December drop in exports of 30.7% y-o-y). Copper strip still represented the most heavily produced brass mill semi-fabricated product (27.7% of overall production in gross weight) but output decreased by 11.3% y-o-y, amounting to 16,600t in January. This was principally attributed to weak interconnector demand, the impact of the flooding in Thailand and the highly appreciated yen affecting the export market. Copper tube output decreased by 14.5% y-o-y to 9,750t in January, on weak demand from air conditioner manufacturers caused by bad weather and a slow world economy. Brass bar production fell by 7.7% y-o-y but rose by 900t since December to reach 14,206t in January. The change was attributed to improving demand from the domestic automotive and plumbing sectors.

Chinese refined copper imports in January amounted to 180,500 tonnes, up by 41.3% y-o-y. Copper scrap imports in January declined by 56.2% y-o-y to 184,400 tonnes gross weight. The consumption side of the red metal remains weak as all the major copper consuming industries are in decline. Building construction, the electronics industry, as well as the automotive sector are suffering due to the economic slowdown. As for the power industry, the Chinese government has allocated a 1 trillion yuan package for power grid investment in the next three years.