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voda 15 april 2015 16:13

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Chinese economie groeit 7,0% in eerste kwartaal

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--Het bruto binnenlands product van China is in het eerste kwartaal met 7,0% gegroeid ten opzichte van een jaar eerder, wat een vertraging is ten opzichte van de groei met 7,3% in het laatste kwartaal van 2014.

Dat blijkt woensdag uit cijfers van het Chinese nationale statistiekbureau.

De groei was licht boven de gemiddelde verwachting van 6,9% van 15 door The Wall Street Journal geraadpleegde economen.

Ten opzichte van het voorgaande kwartaal groeide de Chinese economie met 1,3% op een voor seizoensinvloeden aangepaste basis.

- Door Levien de Feijter; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; +31 20 571 52 00; levien.defeijter@wsj.com

voda 15 april 2015 16:40

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China easing hopes as supply worries put floor under copper prices

Reuters reported that London copper prices steadied as investors bet that Beijing would take fresh measures to shore up its economy after surprisingly weak trade data.

Mr James Glenn analyst at National Australia Bank in Melbourne said that "The overall picture isn't particularly inspiring in China at the minute, so people are now probably looking to see if Chinese authorities are going to take any more significant measures to jump start the economy."

Mr Glenn said that China's export sales contracted 15% in March, a shock outcome that deepens concern about sputtering Chinese economic growth. Supply threats have also helped keep a floor under copper prices shielding them from weakness hammering other commodities such as steel and iron ore, which are burdened by oversupply.

Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange was trading little changed at USD 5,989.50 per tonne by 0147 GMT, after 0.8% losses in the previous session. The most-traded June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was down 0.8% at CNY 43,330 per tonne, but off earlier lows.

Across other metals, benchmark zinc and lead dropped 1 percent, after failing to break their 200 day moving averages during London trade, a technical indicator that sent a sell signal to traders following chart based strategies.

Source : REUTERS

voda 15 april 2015 16:42

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Chinese copper imports surge in March

China’s copper imports surged 46.4 percent in March as firms resumed shipments after the Lunar New Year holidays the month before.

Arrivals of anode, refined copper, copper alloys and semi-finished copper products reached 410,000 tons in March, compared with 280,000 tons in February, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. February’s shipments were the lowest since June 2011 as slowing economic growth curbed demand.

Traders said importers had bought spot refined copper in early February when the difference between London Metal Exchange and Shanghai prices favoured imports, with the bulk set to arrive in Shanghai between late March and mid-April.

Source : THE NEWS

[verwijderd] 17 april 2015 13:41

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Violent sell-off in the Chinese stock market read.bi/1b9Gziq

[verwijderd] 20 april 2015 03:49

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China stock open ... lower Early going so far, but its not as bad as it might have been:

From late on Friday: Chinese stocks hit after margin crackdown
and then this: China securities regulator denies encouraging short selling
But, the sell-off should be the cushioned somewhat by this: China cuts reserve ratio by 1 percent

voda 20 april 2015 16:13

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Chinese centrale bank verlaagt reserve-eisen banken

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--De Chinese centrale bank heeft dit weekend de reserve-eisen voor commerciele banken verlaagd, waarmee wordt getracht de kredietverstrekking te vergroten en daarmee de economie aan te jagen.

De People's Bank of China verlaagde de minimale reservebuffers met een vol procentpunt, waarmee circa $200 miljard aan kapitaal vrijkomt dat kan worden uitgeleend aan het bedrijfsleven en consumenten. Het is de tweede keer in minder dan drie maanden dat de centrale bank op deze manier probeert de economie aan te jaren.

Vorige week werd bekend dat de groei van de Chinese economie in het eerste kwartaal is afgenomen tot 7% op jaarbasis, de traagste groei in zes jaar.

De afgelopen maanden werden er al meer maatregelen genomen om de kredietverstrekking aan te jagen en de leenkosten te verminderen, waaronder twee renteverlagingen sinds november.

Door Lingling Wei; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst; +31 20 571 52 00; amsterdam@dowjones.com

voda 20 april 2015 16:22

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GM zet in op China

ZONDAG 19 APRIL 2015, 16:51 uur | 199 keer gelezen

PEKING (AFN/BLOOMBERG) - De Amerikaanse autobouwer General Motors (GM) zet flink in op China. Het concern wil, met zijn lokale partner SAIC Motor, de komende jaren miljarden investeren om marktaandeel te winnen.

De combinatie van GM en SAIC, die de naam Shanghai GM draagt, investeert tot 2020 zo'n 100 miljard yuan (bijna 15 miljard euro). In de betreffende 5 jaar moet het marktaandeel dan boven de 10 procent uitkomen. “China blijft belangrijk groeipotentieel hebben voor GM”, aldus bestuursvoorzitter Mary Barra van GM.

Onder meer de verkopen van de merken Chevrolet en Buick moeten er door de investering op vooruit gaan. GM mikt op de verkoop van een miljoen stuks per merk in het Aziatische land, zo liet het concern weten.

voda 20 april 2015 16:35

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China cuts Banks' reserve ratio update

China's central bank cut the reserve requirement on bank deposits in a move to let banks lend more of their funds to struggling companies as the economy slows.

The People's Bank of China said that it was cutting the bank reserve requirement ratio by one full percentage point while it also made other targeted cuts in bank reserves, effective Monday.

The move followed a half point reduction in February and would mean that the nation's bigger banks now need to keep a still hefty 18.5% of their deposits on reserve with the central bank.

Economists have been calling for the central bank to move more aggressively on monetary policy measures to help the struggling economy, which has been hit by a slumping property market, overcapacity in basic industries such as steel and cement and sluggish demand from abroad for the nation's exports.

China's economy has been growing at a pace that other large economies would envy but is far below its own record of recent years. On Wednesday, the government announced the economy grew 7% year to year in the first quarter, its slowest pace in six years.

Economists said that could put the government's target of reaching about 7% growth for all of this year in jeopardy, though Beijing insists it has the means to ensure the economy grows fast enough to create at least 10 million urban jobs this year.

Authorities have already taken a number of measures to help growth reach the targeted level. In addition to the reductions in bank reserve requirements, the central bank has cut interest rates twice since November in order to lower borrowing costs for the nation's companies. The government has also used stepped up infrastructure spending and tax cuts to boost growth.

Last week Premier Mr Li Keqiang visited some of the nation's big banks and urged them to try to lower borrowing costs and roll over loans when possible to aid companies in need of a helping hand. He also promised more targeted measures in the future, though he didn't give any details of the government's plans.

The central bank said that it would make an additional cut of one full percentage point in the reserve requirement for agricultural cooperatives and the smallest banks as well as a two-percentage-point reduction for the Agricultural Development Bank, a key policy bank that supports farm projects. It offered another cut of 0.5 percentage point to banks that qualify with sufficient loans to small borrowers and the agricultural sector.

Source : NASDAQ

voda 20 april 2015 16:36

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China Premier Mr Li tells banks to lift their game

China’s Premier Mr Li Keqiang has urged banks to step up their efforts to support economic growth while encouraging them to roll over loans when needed.

During visits to two of the country’s big state banks, Mr Li said that China’s economy was entering a transition period and the financial sector played an important role in supporting economic growth.

China’s economy has been recording slower growth as authorities grapple with a weak property sector, once a key driver of its economic expansion, and overcapacity in a number of basic industries such as steel and cement.

Mr Li said while visiting to the offices of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s largest lender by assets that “The government could give commercial banks preferential policies if they lent to small borrowers. Providing financial services to small and medium sized enterprises required help from both big banks and small banks.”

The state controlled news agency cited an ICBC executive as saying, however, that Industrial & Commercial Bank’s lending to smaller companies may grow at a relatively slower pace this year as the bank’s funding base is expanding.

Source : THE AUSTRALIAN

voda 20 april 2015 16:54

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China's first Hualong One units gets construction approval

China's State Council has given final approval for construction of units 5 and 6 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in Fujian province. They will be demonstration units for the domestically-developed Hualong One reactor design.

During a meeting yesterday, chaired by Chinese premier Li Keqiang, the State Council approved construction of the new units. Their construction had been approved earlier this month by the National Development and Reform Commission.

In a statement, the State Council said that "Technologies used in the Hualong One reactor are based on experience gained after two decades of producing nuclear power for civilian use and have taken reference from the world's top-notch designs.Intellectual property rights for key technologies and equipment used in nuclear power plants will facilitate the country's efforts to explore third party markets."

The council also said that "The project will adopt the highest international safety standards, and improve on existing emergency plans to ensure the safety of construction and operation."

In November 2014, China National Nuclear Corporation announced that the 5th and 6th units at Fuqing will use the Hualong One design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry.

Site preparations are well advanced for Fuqing 5, which had previously been slated to start construction before the end of 2014. According to that schedule it would be in operation in around 2019. CNNC is reportedly now lilely to pour first concrete for Fuqing 5 by mid-2015.

In 2012 central planners in Beijing directed CNNC and the other large nuclear builder and operator, China General Nuclear to 'rationalise' their reactor programs. This meant CNNC's ACP1000 and CGN's ACPR1000 were 'merged' into one standardised design, the Hualong One.

In fact, each company has its own supply chain and their versions of Hualong One will differ slightly but the design is considered to be standardised. It is set for wide deployment in China as well as export to other countries.

CGN's version of the reactor design has already been approved for use at units 3 and 4 of its Fangchenggang site.

In February, China and Argentina agreed to cooperate on construction of a Hualong One reactor in the South American country, marking the first potential overseas order for the reactor.

Source : WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS

voda 20 april 2015 16:57

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Chinese consumption of electricity from coal power plants falls 10pct

Financial Review reported that China's consumption of electricity from coal-fired power stations fell 10% over the first 3 months of the year, as overall electricity usage posted one of its weakest performances in 2 decades.

The National Energy Administration said that China's power consumption fell 2.2% in March compared with a year earlier, as the economy slowed and heavy industry cut back production.

Over the quarter, power consumption was up just 0.8% compared with last year, well below market expectations.

Mr Lin Boqing, director of the China Centre for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said that "This is one of the lowest rates of quarterly growth in the last two decades. It shows there is very large downward pressure on the economy, especially heavy industry."

Mr Lin said that the figures were 'very bad news' for Australian coal exporters, as it signalled Chinese demand would continue to decline.

According to Customs Bureau figures released on April 13th, China's coal imports fell 42% over the Q1 of the year, compared with the same time last year.

This is partly a function of Beijing's recently declared 'war on pollution' but also overproduction across the Chinese coal sector.

While coal used in the power generation saw a sharp drop in the Q1, the use of renewables rose sharply.

The consumption of hydro electricity rose by 10% over the quarter, compared with the same time last year. Hydro power is now 55% as large as coal, after contributing 609 hours of electricity consumption in the Q1.

Mr Lin said that China's tough new environmental restrictions had played some part in the weak power consumption numbers, but the main problem was a lack of demand from heavy industry.

On Wednesday, China reported its first drop in crude steel and pig iron production on record, among a slew of weak data connected to heavy industry and the housing sector.

Crude steel production dropped 1.7% over the quarter, its first decline since records began in 1994.

Cement production in March was down 20.5%, compared with last year, while the amount of glass produced fell 6.6%.

The drop in power usage in March combined with the weak production figures for steel and cement will raise suspicions that China's economy is growing at a far slower pace than official figures suggest.

On Wednesday, China reported Q1 growth of 7%, the slowest expansion in 6 years.

Premier Mr Li Keqiang fuelled doubts over the accuracy of China's economic data in 2010, when WikiLeaks revealed he said the GDP figures were for 'reference only" as they were "man made.'

He cited power consumption, rail freight volumes and bank loans as a better gauge of China's economic health.

This spawned the so-called 'Li Keqiang Index.'

Using these metrics, Bloomberg calculated China's economy grew at about 5% in the Q1, after rail volumes declined 9% and growth in money supply or M2 fell slightly to 11.6%.

While this index was popular with economists when Mr Li's comments came to light in 2010, it has fallen out of fashion in recent years as the importance of heavy industry declined and consumption played a greater role in the economy.

Source : FINANCIAL REVIEW

voda 21 april 2015 16:38

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China to invest USD 37 billion in various energy projects

Business Recorder reported that out of the total USD 45 billion investment in Pakistan, China will invest up to USD 37 billion in various energy projects while give USD 8 billion concessional loan for infrastructure development projects of Pak-China Economic Corridor project.

This was stated by Mr Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms while speaking at a press conference along with Information Minister Mr Pervez Rashid and Mr Tariq Fatemi, Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs.

Briefing journalists about the 2 day state visit of Chinese President Mr Xi Jinping, who will arrive here on Monday, Mr Ahsan Iqbal said that the investment in energy and infrastructure projects would be done by the Chinese companies and the Chinese banks will provide loans.

To a question about the exact mark-up rate of the loan, Mr Ahsan Iqbal did not divulge the exact rate but added that the markup of the concessional loan being acquired for the infrastructure projects will be much lesser than the market rate and it will be for a period of 15 to 20 years.

He said that the government was trying to give maximum share to the private sector to invest in these projects. About completion of the energy projects, he said most of the coal projects would be completed in three years while the projects related to wind and solar will take up to one year to be completed.

He said that the energy projects with Chinese support would generate a total of 16,500 MW electricity, adding the work on 10,400 MW projects would be completed by 2018 in the first phase. While projects of 60,00MW will be completed in the 2nd phase.

In Thar, Mr Ahsan said that 10 coal-based power plants will be installed on commercial basis which will generate up to 6,600 MW electricity from coal.

To a question, he rejected the controversy around various projects, saying that all the concerned provinces have been consulted on the energy projects.

According to him, projects of 8,500 MW will be undertaken in Azad Jammu and Kashmir while there are various hydel projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, coal in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.

When asked why the chief ministers of other provinces other than Mr Shahbaz Sharif, CM of Punjab, were not being involved in the ongoing dialogue with Chinese government, he advised media to avoid making things controversial through such questions.

He said that "Mr Shahbaz Sharif is indeed brother of PM Mr Nawaz Sharif but he has a good political repute and Pak-China relations are not confined to the government of any particular party in the country."

He maintained that the reservations of the political parties on the route of Pak-China Corridor have mostly been addressed in a meeting with representatives of the political parties on Wednesday.

He said that 3 basic routes of the project, the Western route which will link D.I. Khan with Gwadar via Qila Saifullah, Zhob and Quetta, adding there was a missing link of 400 KM between Sorab and Gwadar and work on it has already been started by FWO last year and would be completed by 2016.

He said that the 124 KM road from Quetta and D.I. KHAN is being upgraded with the help of Asian Development Bank while the road between Multan and Quttta is being upgraded with the help of Japan.

According to him, the second route will be from Gwadar to Rato Dero and Sukkur via Indus Highway and the third route, which can be called as Eastern route, will be from Gwadar to Sukkur via Motorway from Peshawar and Lahore to Karachi, adding the work on all the routes has been started.

Source : BUSINESS RECORDER

voda 22 april 2015 18:03

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Industrial metals rally as China stimulus boosts demand outlook

Lead rallied to the highest this year and copper advanced to a three week high as China stepping up stimulus boosted the demand outlook in the biggest consumer.

The central bank said that copper climbed as much as 1.9% while lead rose as much as 1.1%. The People’s Bank of China lowered the reserve-requirement ratio, or the amount of cash lenders must hold in reserve, by 1 percentage point effective April 20.

The reduction, the second this year and the largest since November 2008, comes after data last week showed the second largest economy expanded at the weakest pace since 2009 last quarter.

Mr Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC MARKETS in Sydney said that “Estimates are that this reduction in reserve requirements immediately releases the equivalent of around USD 200 billion for lending in the Chinese economy. Given the impact it has on the global market for commodities, that’s expected to provide a significant boost to consumption and therefore prices.”

Source : BLOOMBERG

voda 22 april 2015 18:04

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London copper jumps after China cuts banks' reserve ratio

Reuters reported that London copper rallied to its highest level in four weeks after China cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves to help combat a slowdown in growth in the world's second-biggest economy.

Mr Dan Morgan analyst of UBS in Sydney said that “The move could help buttress copper prices, which are already showing signs of having found a floor, if it helps to stabilise China's struggling property MARKET.”

He said that "All the moves to date really haven't worked at stabilising the property MARKET, which is what we need for metals. An interest rate cut helps, but I'm not sure it's enough to trigger very strong demand growth from China this year."

China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, the second industry wide cut in two months, adding liquidity to help spur bank lending and battle slowing growth. China's average new home prices continued to fall in March compared with a year before, but the trend is expected to improve as the government's stimulus policies bolster sales.

Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange TRADED up 0.8% at USD 6,106 per tonne by 1435 GMT after closing flat in the previous session. The price earlier topped USD 6,173 a tonne, which was the loftiest since March 26. The most TRADED June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded up 0.4% at CNY 43,910 per tonne.

Source : REUTERS

voda 22 april 2015 18:39

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China raising clean energy share and adds 5.04 GW solar in Q1

Greentech Lead reported that China is expanding its renewable energy base at a robust pace while also extending support to other nations to improve their clean energy capacity.

The country has reported growth of 5.04 GW in solar power capacity during the first quarter of 2015 alone.

According to China’s National Energy Administration, it is a 17.9% increase YoY.

On Monday, China signed agreements with Pakistan to develop 2 clean energy projects in that country.

One of the agreements signed is for a 200 MW wind power installation and the other for a 900 MW Zonergy solar farm in Bahawalpur.

The installations will be part of the 14 power projects totaling 8030 MW that China and Pakistan have entered into development deals for.

The total solar power capacity of China till March end stands at 33.12 GW.

Overall, though, that is still less than 2.5% of total installed generation capacity.

Of the total solar energy capacity, 27.79 GW is from traditional solar power stations, while the remainder was generated by grid-connected distributed power sources.

China has seen significant development in its solar energy capacity largely owing to incentives and financing models the government has adopted to encourage distributed production.

Small-scale power installations such as rooftop panels and such other devices have played a vital role in quickly expanding China’s clean energy base.

NEA is planning to increase China’s total solar energy capacity to 17.9 GW by the end of this year.

Addition of solar power capacity this year will also be supported by the commissioning of several clean energy projects initiated last year.

Last year the country had targeted 10.52 GW addition of solar energy capacity.

By 2020, China aims to expand the share of energy generated from non-fossil fuels 15% of its energy mix.

Last year, the share of clean energy was 11.1%.

China has been exploring different clean energy options in its efforts to control pollution and reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases.

The country has been named the biggest carbon emitter of the world.

Source : GREENTECH LEAD

voda 22 april 2015 18:45

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Apple to build first solar power project in China

PTI reported that in the first of its kind project outside the US, Apple will help China to build a 40 MW solar power project as part of the company’s environmental and climate commitments.

Solar panel maker SunPower Corporation would partner with Apple Inc to build solar power projects in China's southwestern plateau.

Ms Lisa Jackson, VP for environmental initiatives at Apple, said that “The project, which will be able to power 61,000 homes a year, will add 80 million KWh of clean energy to the grid annually.”

The world’s most populous nation is now the biggest market for Appl's iPhone surpassing the US for the total number of smart devices in operation.

Ms Jackson said that “We are excited about the amount because it will generate far more energy than is being used by all of our offices and retail stores in China.”

Currently, Apple has 19 corporate offices in China, including 17 in the mainland and 2 in Hong Kong, as well as 21 retail stores in the country.

Ms Jackson said that the project will contain two arrays of solar panels, which will be installed 85 miles apart in Hongyuan County and Zoige County of Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

She said that “We will put the clean energy onto the local grid in Sichuan and buy the power wherever the stores and offices are.”

In the United States, solar farms are often built near Apple’s facilities.

The project, the first of its kind Apple has launched outside the United States, will add China to the list of countries that power Apple’s facilities entirely with renewable energy. Those already on the list include the United States, Germany, the UK, Australia, Spain and Italy.

Mr Jackson said that to develop the new project, Apple has worked closely with both its old and new partners, including SunPower, a US-based company that Apple has cooperated with regularly, and four Chinese companies.

According to Jackson, 2 of the 4 Chinese companies are based in Tianjin, a port city in north China. Another two are based in Sichuan Province.

Source : PTI

voda 23 april 2015 16:02

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BIS meldt terugval internationaal krediet aan China, Rusland

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones)--De wereldwijde grensoverschrijdende kredietverlening is in het vierde kwartaal van vorig jaar licht afgenomen, na drie kwartalen met groei, door minder krediet aan opkomende markten, met name China en Rusland. Dat blijkt donderdag uit cijfers van de Bank for International Settlements (BIS) donderdag.

Wereldwijd bleef de groei van de internationale kredietverlening in het vierde kwartaal stabiel op 5%. De trend, dat buitenlands krediet verschuift van banken naar niet-banken, houdt daarbij wel aan: in het vierde kwartaal ging dat om zo'n $175 miljard.

Van de ontwikkelde economieen toonde de buitenlandse kredietverlening aan Japan sterke groei, met 16% op jaarbasis, terwijl de groeicijfers voor de eurozone met 5% en de VS met 1% veel matiger waren.

Binnen de eurozone waren er duidelijke toenames in Frankrijk, Duitsland, Italie en Nederland, terwijl de buitenlandse leningen aan Cyprus, Spanje en Griekenland juist daalden.

Het krediet aan opkomende markten daalde met $80 miljard, waarvan $51 miljard voor rekening kwam van China en $20 miljard voor Rusland.

De buitenlandse kredietgroei aan opkomende markten halveerde hierdoor, tot 6% op jaarbasis, van 11% een kwartaal eerder. Ook de groei van het buitenlandse krediet aan China halveerde, tot 21% van 40% in China.

Toch blijven de uitstaande leningen aan China met ruim $1.000 miljard veel hoger dan aan andere andere opkomende markten zoals Brazilie, India en Turkije, die op niveas van $300 miljard tot bijna $200 miljard zitten.

Het buitenlandse krediet aan China bestaat voor meer dan driekwart uit kortlopende leningen, vooral aan de bankensector. Het aandeel van dollars is gedaald tot minder dan 40%. In Brazilie, India en Indonesie bestaat het buitenlandse krediet nog voor ruim tweederde uit dollars.

Door Archie van Riemsdijk; Dow Jones Nieuwsdienst, +31-20-5715200 ; archie.vanriemsdijk@wsj.com

voda 23 april 2015 16:44

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China demand angst puts a lid on copper prices

Reuters reported that weak demand from top consumer China and excess supplies kept copper prices little changed while lead rose to a five-month high on expectations of shortages.

Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down at USD 5,910 a tonne from USD 5,945 a tonne at Tuesday's close. Last Wednesday the metal fell to a three week low of USD 5,874.50.

An economic slowdown has led to weaker demand growth in China, which accounts for nearly half of global consumption estimated at nearly 23 million tonnes this year. China's refined March copper imports were down 5.5% from a year earlier and have tumbled nearly a fifth so far this year.

Mr Wiktor Bielski, head of commodities research at VTB Capital, said at a briefing Chinese government measures to get the economy growing were creating an overheated market. There was a property bubble, it burst, and they're now simply creating a financial bubble instead."

Indicating increased supply in the market, cash copper has this week moved into a discount to the three-month price for the first time since July last year MCU0-3.

Source : REUTERS

voda 24 april 2015 15:25

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Poor China factory data sends copper to month low

Reuters reported that industrial metals prices tumbled after a weak Chinese manufacturing survey reinforced worries about demand, while aluminium was also pressured by news China will remove export taxes on rods and bars.

Three month copper on the London Metal Exchange sank to USD 5,864.50 a tonne, its lowest since March 20 from Wednesday's last bid USD 5,910. It traded at USD 5,933 a tonne in official rings.

A private survey showed that China's Factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in a year in April suggesting economic conditions are still deteriorating despite increasingly aggressive policy easing by the central bank.

Ms Caroline Bain, senior commodities economist at Capital Economics said that "We haven't seen a strong pickup in (copper) demand in China after the New Year holiday, though there are tentative signs. But the risks to mine supply haven't faded and we don't see a collapse for copper demand in China, so we're cautiously positive."

Copper has been consolidating since hitting near six year lows in January, as unexpected supply disruptions spurred analysts to cut their 2015 surplus forecasts. But the metal has been unable to capitalize more recently on the supply story as demand disappoints in China.

Source : REUTERS

voda 24 april 2015 15:26

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China ends export tax on rare earths and other metals

The Ministry of finance said that China will eliminate its export tariffs on rare earths and other metals ending a controversial policy that caused a diplomatic row and international trade dispute.

Export restrictions on rare earths, first proposed as a way to build China’s industry and prevent the depletion of strategic raw materials at cheap prices, flared into an international trade issue after an abrupt reduction in export quotas in 2010 left traders short.

The resulting surge in prices triggered an international debate on the strategic value of rare earths, used in military and high tech applications, and helped revitalise rare earths mining and processing in other countries, including Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Eliminating the tariffs is part of a more general streamlining designed to reduce the red tape that allows corruption to flourish at government departments and state owned enterprises.

China cut its quota on rare earths exports this year after the country lost a case brought against it at the World Trade Organisation. China is home to most of the world’s deposits of the 17 minerals classed as rare earths.

But while international trade officials may cheer the end of the tariffs on rare earths such as tungsten and molybdenum, the end to tariffs on aluminium products could lead to new trade frictions.

The Ministry of finance said that taxes on certain aluminium alloy rods and bars will be reduced from 15% to zero. China’s aluminium industry struggles with severe overcapacity but Chinese exports could further undercut the profits of aluminium product manufacturers worldwide, such as Rio Tinto and Alcoa. The US slapped duties of about 33 per cent on Chinese extruded aluminium products after extrusion shipments doubled in 2009 compared with the year before.

Exports of semi-processed aluminium products from China flooded into world markets last year, putting pressure on global prices and premiums. That flow started to ease last month but Thursday’s notice did not mention any change in the tax refund that has incentivised the trade.

Alcoa said that this month it expects a surplus of 326,000 tonnes this year, after forecasting a deficit in January. Shares in the company have fallen 14 per cent this year.

Source : FINANCIAL TIMES

AEX 914,52 -15,89 -1,71% 15:03


Germany40^	22.473,00	-2,91%
BEL 20	4.431,29	-0,86%
Europe50^	5.396,79	-2,60%
US30^	43.070,90	-0,26%
Nasd100^	20.343,20	-0,49%
US500^	5.822,28	-0,45%
Japan225^	36.692,90	-1,67%
Gold spot	2.921,90	+0,93%
EUR/USD	1,0543	+0,54%
WTI	67,78	-0,67%

ALLFUNDS GROUP	+4,31%
UNILEVER PLC	+1,82%
NSI	+1,40%
THEON INTERNAT	+1,16%
Heineken	+0,84%

AMG Critical ...	-8,70%
EBUSCO HOLDING	-6,32%
ASMI	-5,90%
Aegon	-5,22%
SIGNIFY NV	-4,69%

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