Imports of copper concentrate in Jul grow 32% on the year

Published: Aug 8, 2018 14:26
Imports of copper concentrate in Jul grew sharply year-on-year as rising TCs fuelled purchasing enthusiasm across smelters

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (SMM) – China's imports of copper concentrate in July grew sharply year-on-year as rising treatment charges (TCs) fuelled purchasing enthusiasm across smelters, SMM believes.

In July, China imported 1.85 million mt of copper concentrate, up 32.1% from the same period last year, according to data from China Customs. TCs for imported materials began to climb from the start of May. TCs stood at $85-90/mt as of August 3, compared to $71-78/mt on May 4, SMM assessments showed.

Copper concentrate imports from January to July grew 18.2% on the year and stood at 11.40 million mt.

Customs data also showed that imports of unwrought copper and copper products in July grew 15.9% from a year ago and stood at 452,000 mt. This brought imports of unwrought copper and copper products in the January-July period up 16.2% to stand at 3.05 million mt.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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