Prices of base metal are being weighed on by sharp decline in oil prices and weak Asian stock markets. The decline in prices of copper and nickel can be much worse as the Chinese CSI 300 index dropped 6%. The Chinese customs authorities, in their data, stated that the country imported 4.8% more lead concentrate, 12.5% more copper concentrate and 47.4% more zinc concentrate in 2015 than in 2014. The high imports are most likely due to high smelting capacities in China and the attractive refining and treatment charges.

China has imported more of refined nickel and ferronickel in 2015, more than doubling the imports in both cases. One of the reasons for the higher imports is because of low nickel price that makes it more attractive to directly ship in refined nickel.

China imported the lowest quantity of nickel ore in December since February from the Philippines, the largest nickel ore supplier to China. The data as a whole corroborates the nation's strong demand for metals. China is likely to demand large quantities of metals in 2016 given the several infrastructural measures and the low prices.