China is likely to import less refined copper from the spot market in February and March due to plentiful stocks and weak demand which are also weighing on Shanghai prices, industry sources said on Tuesday.
Purchases by the world's top copper consumer are also being limited by unfavourable arbitrage, with traders refraining from buying copper from the London Metals Exchange and selling it in the Shanghai Futures Exchange or the domestic spot market due to the lower prices.
Shanghai copper for May delivery was trading largely unchanged at around 60,300 yuan ($9,600) a tonne on Tuesday, up 8.9 percent from the end of 2011 but lagging a 10.9 percent rise in the LME's benchmark 3-month contract.
China's total copper imports - which include refined copper, anode copper, alloys and semi-finished products - may fall to around 300,000 tonnes this month from 413,964 tonnes in January due to weak demand, Xiao Jing, analyst at Beijing Capital Futures estimated. January's total imports were 18.7 percent lower compared to a record high of 508,942 tonnes in December 2011, as public holidays slowed trade. Refined copper imports for January will be announced next week.
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