China

Despite the impact of COVID, new energy vehicle (NEV) production and sales in China were 110% higher in the first four months of this year at, respectively, 1.61 million and 1.56 million units. One of the contributors to this growth has been government policies promoting R&D in this sector. Some 427,000 NEVs were sold in May for a 53% increase month on month, equating to around 61% of global NEV sales. It is expected that more than 6 million NEVs will be sold this year.

With the Chinese government relaxing its COVID policy, June’s PMI increased by 0.6 points to 50.2 - a positive sign of economic and manufacturing sector recovery. To further strengthen the economic recovery, the Chinese government has announced a stimulus package which includes 140 billion yuan in tax rebates and 300 billion yuan in railway construction bonds.

To achieve its climate commitments, China - as one of the top scrap metal consuming markets - is planning to increase ferrous scrap consumption to 320 million tonnes by 2025, along with a goal of 20 million tonnes of recycled non-ferrous metals in the next five years.

China Customs data indicate that copper scrap imports totalled 158,000 tonnes in May for increases of 16.9% month on month and 13.46% year on year.