China's implied demand for copper and aluminium rose strongly in February compared to January, Reuters calculations based on official Chinese data showed on Monday. Implied demand for copper jumped 18.7 percent over the previous month while aluminium demand showed a 13.2 percent monthly increase. After adjusting for a 63 percent increase in copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange over the month, the rise in copper demand looked less dramatic, at 10.0 percent.
The implied demand calculations are based on trade figures from China's Customs and output figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, with an adjustment for approximate changes in stock levels, where available. The percentage changes are calculated on a daily average basis in order to remove the distortion caused by February being shorter than January. February 2010.