Japan Electrolytic Copper Ingot Import Hits 10 Year High

Japanese electrolytic copper import exceeded 100,000 tonnes in 2007 for the first time in 10 years. The import increased by 37% to 100,711 tonnes from 2006. The import increased by 57% to 44,924 tonnes from the largest supplier of Chile and to 10 times at 16,830 tonnes from India. The aluminium import decreased both for ingot and scrap in 2007 from 2006. The slow building demand reduced the import. The alloyed aluminium import also decreased despite of strong demand for automobile. The electrolytic lead ingot import decreased by 24% in 2007 from 2006 due to tight international supply under export restriction by Australia and higher export tariff by China. The import unit price increased to 2.4 times. The zinc import increased by more than 30% both for zinc ingot with 99.99% or more purity and ingot with less than 99.99% purity in 2007 from 2006 due to higher demand for galvanizing steel. The tin ingot import decreased by 9.1% in the record high market. The nickel import increased by 5% with strong demand for stainless steel.