Physical indicators in the Asian copper market are pointing to the strongest demand for the metal in more than a year, as Chinese traders see the 30 percent fall in prices since August as a buying opportunity.

　　亞洲銅市的實物指標表明，銅需求達到了一年多來最強勁的水平，原因是中國交易商認為，銅價自8月以來已下跌30%，目前正是買入良機。

　　London Metal Exchange warehouses are set to make their largest deliveries of copper since early 2009, and the price of physical copper in China, measured by its premium above LME prices, has jumped to the highest since July 2010. LME

　　倫敦金屬交易所(LME)旗下倉庫即將交割的銅達到2009年初以來最高水平。在中國，實物銅的價格（按與LME價格的溢價衡量）猛漲至2010年7月以來的最高水平。

　　The buying comes after the price of copper for delivery in three months on the LME tumbled to a 14-month low of $6,635 a tonne last week, down by almost a third since the start of August.

　　3個月期銅上周暴跌至每噸6635美元的14個月低點，自8月初算起累計下跌近三分之一。

　　Analysts said Chinese consumers, who account for almost 40 percent of global copper demand, had run down their inventories earlier this year when prices were trading at record levels above $9,000. “

　　分析師稱，今年早些時候，當價格在9000美元以上的歷史高位運行時，中國用戶紛紛削減了銅庫存。中國的銅需求占全球總量的將近40%。

　　“You can only destock once, so even though end-use consumption appears to be weakening, consumers need to buy more material than earlier this year and are now turning back to the import market,” said Jim Lennon, head of commodities research at Macquarie.

　　你一度只能減少庫存，所以，即使目前終端消費似乎在減少，與今年早些時候相比，用戶也需要購買更多的材料，所以他們正在重返進口市場。”麥格理(Macquarie)大宗商品研究部門主管吉姆?列農(Jim Lennon)表示。

　　Nonetheless, Mr Lennon added that prices were likely to be driven by concerns over the eurozone debt crisis in the short term. On Tuesday, copper fell 3 percent to $7,250.25 a tonne.

　　不過列農同時表示，短期內，銅價可能受到投資者擔憂歐元區(qū)債務危機因素的左右。周二銅價下跌了3%，至每噸7250.25美元。

　　Traders have requested delivery of 60,000 tonnes of copper from the LME in recent weeks – the highest level of “cancelled warrants” since 2009 – with the majority planned in Asian warehouses.

　　近幾周內，交易商已要求從LME交割6萬噸銅，“注銷倉單”(cancelled warrants)達到2009年以來的最高水平，其中大部分將發(fā)生在亞洲倉庫。

　　At the same time, the premium paid for copper in China over the LME price – an indication of the tightness in the physical market – has risen to $120-$150 a tonne, according to CRU, a consultancy, the highest since July 2010. Earlier this year, Chinese premiums traded below $50.

　　與此同時，根據(jù)CRU咨詢公司的數(shù)據(jù)，在中國購買銅所支付的相對于LME銅價的溢價升至每噸120-150美元，為2010年7月以來最高水平。今年早些時候，中國溢價低于50美元。