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High metal prices drive Philippine coin smuggling
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High metal prices drive Philippine coin smuggling
Smugglers have tried to ship out millions of older one-peso coins from the Philippines, not for their face value of less than 2 U.S. cents each but for the copper and nickel content as metals prices soar.
The central bank said customs authorities seized a 40-foot container at the weekend that was loaded with 2-3 million coins, weighing 12.2-18.3 tonnes, bound for Japan. Any export of coins worth more than 10 000 pesos ($191) must be declared.
It was the latest attempt this year to illegally ship the one-peso coins minted until 2003, after seizures of about 400 000 pieces in May and 1 million pieces in February, central bank Deputy Governor Armando Suratos told Reuters yesterday.
“It could be because of the metal content,” Suratos said. “In 2002, the cost of producing a one-peso coin was already 1.40 to 1.60 pesos.”
Until 2003, an alloy containing 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel was used to make the 6.1-gram coins – which has made their metal content now worth about 3.50 pesos each. Suratos said the central bank started minting one-peso coins made of steel and plated with nickel in 2004 to cut costs.
Copper at the London Metal Exchange has risen nearly 75 percent since the start of the year, ending at $7 730 per tonne on Monday, partly due to strong demand for industrial metals from China and tight supplies.
Nickel touched a record high of $24 800 per tonne on Monday before closing at $24 650. (U.S. $1=52.20 pesos)
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