China’s Dec copper imports hit 13-month high

SHANGHAI: China’s imports of unwrought copper and copper products reached a 13-month high in December, rising 17.8% year-on-year to 559,000 metric tons, according to customs data released on Monday.

Imports increased 5.87% from November, partly due to sellers fulfilling remaining volume obligations of annual contracts.

For the whole of 2024, unwrought copper imports totalled 5.68 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.27%, the data showed.

The data includes anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products.

Copper prices fell in December, both in China and globally, on a stronger US dollar which makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies to buy US-dollar-priced commodities.

Copper hits highest in nearly a month on China demand

Deliverable copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange stood at 83,174 tons on Jan. 3, a 17.3% increase from a 10-month low of 70,894 tons recorded on Dec. 20.

For the whole of 2024, unwrought copper imports totalled 5.68 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.27%, the data showed.

Imports of copper concentrate came to million tons in December, up 1.65% from a year earlier. For 2024, they totalled 28.11 million tons, up 2.1%.