銅價升至4年高點

Copper prices continued their march higher on Thursday, rallying to their highest level in almost four years and putting the metal on track for its best year since 2010, in a welcome development for some of the world’s largest mining companies following years of oversupply.

銅價周四繼續(xù)走高，升至近4年來的最高水平。2017年即將成為2010年以來銅價表現(xiàn)最好的一年，在多年的供過于求之后，這對世界最大的一些礦業(yè)公司是可喜的發(fā)展。

The red metal is set to end the year up more than 30 per cent, helped by strong global economic growth and robust demand in China, the world’s biggest consumer.

受全球經(jīng)濟強勁增長和世界最大銅消費國中國旺盛需求的推動，這種紅色金屬截至年底的價格漲幅勢必超過30%。

Copper has become a favourite metal for global mining companies such as Glencore and Rio Tinto, which now forecast a lack of supply by the end of the decade as old mines come to the end of their lives and are not replaced.

銅已經(jīng)成為最受嘉能可(Glencore)和力拓(Rio Tinto)等全球礦業(yè)公司歡迎的金屬。這些公司預測，隨著老礦儲量枯竭而未能被新礦取代，本10年末尾將迎來銅供應短缺。

Demand for the metal is also expected to increase from a buildout of charging networks required for electric cars and integration of renewable energy from the wind and sun.

建立電動汽車充電網(wǎng)絡和整合風能和太陽能等可再生能源的需要，預計將帶動銅需求增加。

Copper staged a spectacular rally to more than $10,000 a tonne in early 2011 after China launched a huge stimulus package following the financial crisis. It then crashed to just over $4,000 a tonne in early 2016, as new copper projects came to fruition and demand weakened, causing analysts to forecast a “wall of supply”.

中國在金融危機后推出了大規(guī)模刺激計劃，之后銅價在2011年初出現(xiàn)大幅上漲，至每噸逾1萬美元。隨著新銅礦項目投產(chǎn)，而需求減弱，導致分析師預測“排山倒海般的供應”，銅價在2016年初跌至每噸略高于4000美元。

This year, however, copper prices have clawed their way back up to more than $7,000 a tonne. On Thursday they hit $7,312 a tonne, the highest level since January 2014.

然而，2017年銅價回升至每噸逾7000美元。周四銅價達到每噸7312美元，這是自2014年1月以來的最高水平。

Shares of miners Glencore and Anglo American rose on the news, with shares up more 2 per cent this week.

礦業(yè)公司嘉能可和英美資源集團(Anglo American)的股價隨之上漲，本周股價上漲逾2%。

The immediate move higher was sparked by the release of China’s import data on Wednesday, which showed that imports of refined copper jumped 19 per cent to 329,168 tonnes in November.

周三公布的中國進口數(shù)據(jù)引發(fā)了最近這波漲勢，數(shù)據(jù)表明中國11月的精煉銅進口量增長19%，至329168噸。

That highlighted strong demand in the country, following a lacklustre October. Analysts said imports of refined copper could continue higher following a crackdown by Chinese authorities on imports of scrap copper over the past few months.

在表現(xiàn)乏力的10月后，這凸顯了中國對銅的強勁需求。分析師們表示，在過去幾個月中國當局打擊進口廢銅之后，對精煉銅的進口可能繼續(xù)上升。

Rumours also circulated that China’s largest producer, Jiangxi Copper, had been forced to cut production as part of the country’s crackdown on pollution. But the company said in a statement that it had received no such order.

有傳言稱，中國最大的銅生產(chǎn)企業(yè)江西銅業(yè)(Jiangxi Copper)因為中國打擊污染的行動而被迫減產(chǎn)。但該公司在聲明中表示，并未接到這樣的命令。