SHANGHAI, Jul. 28 (SMM) – China imported 255,000 tonnes of refined copper in June, down 27,900 tonnes from May and 8.16% less than a year ago, Customs data showed.
Refined copper imports soared 37.29% YoY in H1 to 1.88 million tonnes.
Imports from Europe continued to decline in June. No European country reported more than 10,000 tonnes of copper exports to China during the month.
The news that Russia would scrap a 10% duty on copper exports pushed China’s copper imports from Russia to 9,423 tonnes in June, far beyond 2013’s 2,170 tonnes. This may push full-year imports of Russian copper back to 40,000 tonnes, last seen prior to the export tax in 2010.
China’s copper imports from Chile dropped 24,100 tonnes on the month to 85,000 tonnes in June, largely due to Codelco canceling some shipments to China for production issues.
Despite tighter control over L/C issuance pledged by warehouse warrants, the rising SHFE/LME copper price ratio boosted demand for bills of lading. Thus, SMM expects a rise in refined copper imports for July.
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