Chinese companies and investors are stepping up their purchases of industrial commodities such as copper in a show of confidence in the global economy that stands in contrast to the turmoil in western markets.

　　中國企業(yè)和投資者正在加大對銅等工業(yè)大宗商品的購買力度，這體現了他們對全球經濟的信心，這與西方市場的動蕩形成對比。

　　The wave of buying is providing support for metals and minerals prices after commodities prices fell this month amid worries about a double-dip recession. Senior executives at trading houses, mining companies and banks said Chinese consumers had used the recent drop in prices to rebuild stocks.

　　這波購買浪潮正為金屬和礦物價格提供支持。此前，受人們擔憂經濟二次探底的因素影響，大宗商品價格本月出現了下跌。貿易公司、礦業(yè)公司和銀行的資深高管們表示，中國消費者在利用近期價格下跌的機會重建庫存。

　　“China is significantly less pessimistic relative to people in the western world,” said Raymond Key, head of metals trading at Deutsche Bank. “On dips they are restocking, especially in copper.” An executive at a large Chinese trading house said: “There is no doubt some traders have been buying [copper] recently.”

　　“中國明顯沒有西方人那么悲觀。”德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)金屬交易主管雷蒙德?凱(Raymond Key)表示：“他們正在借價格下跌之機重建庫存，尤其是銅。”中國某大型貿易公司的一位高管表示：“毫無疑問，一些交易員近期一直在買進（銅）。”

　　The surge in copper buying benefits the largest exporting nations, including top producers Chile and Peru, and miners such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper?&?Gold, BHP Billiton and Xstrata, and trading houses such as Glencore and Trafigura.

　　中國大舉買銅，利好各大出口國，包括主要生產國智利和秘魯，以及自由港邁克墨倫銅金礦公司(Freeport-McMoRan Copper?&?Gold)、必和必拓(BHP Billiton)和斯特拉塔(Xstrata)等礦業(yè)企業(yè)，嘉能可(Glencore)和托克(Trafigura)等貿易公司。

　　Copper prices fell to an eight-month low of $8,846 a tonne in early August but have since risen more than 9 per cent to $9,225 on Tuesday.

　　8月初，銅價跌至8846美元/噸的8個月低點，但此后回升了逾9%，周二報9225美元/噸。

　　China accounts for 38 per cent of global copper demand and has the power to almost single-handedly prop up the market even if companies in the west are holding back. Nonetheless, traders warned that Chinese buyers could rapidly step back from the market if they believed prices would fall further.

　　中國占全球銅需求的38%，幾乎以一己之力就能夠支撐起市場，即便西方企業(yè)退縮不前。不過，交易員警告說，如果中國買家認為價格會進一步下跌，他們可能迅速撤離市場。

　　The buying from China reverses the trend in the first half of this year when consumers in the country made minimal purchases of metals such as copper, instead running down their inventories as the government’s drive to tighten credit reduced their ability to import. China’s net copper imports in the first seven months of the year were down 37 per cent from the same period in 2010.

　　來自中國的購買浪潮扭轉了今年上半年的趨勢，當時中國的消費者在消耗庫存的同時，只肯買進最少量的銅等金屬，因為政府收緊信貸的行動降低了他們的進口能力。今年前7個月，中國的銅凈進口量比去年同期下降了37%。

　　Glencore, the world’s largest commodities trader, said so-called bonded warehouses stockpiles had suffered a “significant drawdown”, estimating that stocks had “at least halved” since the beginning of the year.

　　全球最大的大宗商品貿易公司嘉能可表示，保稅倉庫的庫存“顯著下降”。該公司估計，從年初以來，庫存“起碼減少了一半”。

　　Demand from China in recent weeks has been buoyed by a jump in the strength of the renminbi, which makes imports cheaper for Chinese traders.

　　近幾周來，中國的需求受到了人民幣猛然走強的推動。對中國的交易員來說，人民幣升值會使進口變得便宜。

　　Moreover, western traders said some large Chinese buyers had been able to access credit more easily, enabling larger purchases, although they cautioned that credit was still tight for smaller companies.

　　此外，西方交易員表示，一些大型中國買家比較容易獲得信貸，因而有能力擴大購買力度。不過他們警告說，對規(guī)模較小的企業(yè)來說，信貸仍然很緊張。