Chinese Base Metal Demand Expected to Increase Slightly in 2016

Mining Weekly reported that China’s demand for base metals will increase slightly in 2016, but some still have hope of demand strengthening later this year.
As quoted in the market news:

Twelve metals producers, users and analysts contacted by Reuters see Chinese appetite for most base metals rising just slightly in 2016, but four said it could strengthen in the latter part of the year and one said demand for aluminium would be stoked by the country’s expanding transport networks.
“Domestic demand won’t be very good next year, as Beijing’s steps so far have not been enough to fire the economy in the short term,” said an executive at a firm that makes aluminium and copper products, declining to be identified due to company policy.
Slowing growth in the world’s No.2 economy has hit commodity markets hard this year despite a steady stream of government stimulus measures to boost consumption. Chinese copper demand will rise about 2% this year and in 2016, said a manager at a large producer of copper tubes and rods. He added that high stocks of air-conditioners could mean fewer orders for tubes next year.
A senior executive at a large copper smelter said demand-growth would be 3% to 4% in 2016, though government projects to improve old towns would offer some support. Those 2016 forecasts compare with preliminary growth estimates of 4% to 4.5% by Yang Changhua, senior analyst at state-backed research firm Antaike, which sees 2015 demand rising 5.3% from 2014 to 9.18-million tonnes of refined copper.

Click here to read the full Mining Weekly report.