SHANGHAI, Jul. 14 (SMM) – China’s imports of copper product may increase some in July following a 3.9% decline in June, SMM research team expects.
Customs reported that China imported 349,000 tonnes of unwrought copper and copper semis in June, down 3.9% from May and 1.4% on the year.
“Although the SHFE/LME copper price ratio once exceeded 7.25 which left profitable opportunities for importing copper, tight mid-year financing dampened imports,” SMM analyst reckoned.
Heading into July, the SHFE copper prices continued to outperform LME copper, which, combined with an easing of financial pressure, will slightly drive up import numbers.
“Weak demand explains the year-on-year decline in imports,” SMM analyst added, “demand downstream was still anemic, and finance-driven demand was also curbed by tight control on L/C issuance.”
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