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.

　　中国企业和投资者正在加大对铜等工业大宗商品的购买力度，这体现了他们对全球经济的信心，这与西方市场的动荡形成对比。

　　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.

　　这波购买浪潮正为金属和矿物价格提供支持。此前，受人们担忧经济二次探底的因素影响，大宗商品价格本月出现了下跌。贸易公司、矿业公司和银行的资深高管们表示，中国消费者在利用近期价格下跌的机会重建库存。

　　“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.”

　　“中国明显没有西方人那么悲观。”德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)金属交易主管雷蒙德?凯(Raymond Key)表示：“他们正在借价格下跌之机重建库存，尤其是铜。”中国某大型贸易公司的一位高管表示：“毫无疑问，一些交易员近期一直在买进（铜）。”

　　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.

　　中国大举买铜，利好各大出口国，包括主要生产国智利和秘鲁，以及自由港迈克墨伦铜金矿公司(Freeport-McMoRan Copper?&?Gold)、必和必拓(BHP Billiton)和斯特拉塔(Xstrata)等矿业企业，嘉能可(Glencore)和托克(Trafigura)等贸易公司。

　　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，铜价跌至8846美元/吨的8个月低点，但此后回升了逾9%，周二报9225美元/吨。

　　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.

　　中国占全球铜需求的38%，几乎以一己之力就能够支撑起市场，即便西方企业退缩不前。不过，交易员警告说，如果中国买家认为价格会进一步下跌，他们可能迅速撤离市场。

　　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.

　　来自中国的购买浪潮扭转了今年上半年的趋势，当时中国的消费者在消耗库存的同时，只肯买进最少量的铜等金属，因为政府收紧信贷的行动降低了他们的进口能力。今年前7个月，中国的铜净进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贸易公司嘉能可表示，保税仓库的库存“显著下降”。该公司估计，从年初以来，库存“起码减少了一半”。

　　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.

　　近几周来，中国的需求受到了人民币猛然走强的推动。对中国的交易员来说，人民币升值会使进口变得便宜。

　　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，西方交易员表示，一些大型中国买家比较容易获得信贷，因而有能力扩大购买力度。不过他们警告说，对规模较小的企业来说，信贷仍然很紧张。