BEIJING: China’s imports of unwrought copper slid in August to a 16-month low, customs data showed on Tuesday, as weaker demand for the metal hit arrivals.
Imports of unwrought copper and products stood at 415,000 metric tons last month, down 12.3% from the year-earlier figure of 473,330 tons and the lowest since last April, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
The figure marked a decline of 5.3% from July’s imports.
The data includes anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products.
Demand for the metal used for power, construction and transportation sectors was hit by manufacturing weakness in the world’s second largest economy.
Amid a protracted property crisis, China’s manufacturing activity sank to a six-month low in August as factory gate prices tumbled and owners struggled for orders, an official survey showed.
LME copper slips as weak China imports data fans demand worries
Its car sales also fell for a fifth straight month in August, industry data showed.
The reduced demand in the world’s top consumer of the metal has kept inventories stubbornly high, reining in global copper prices.
For the first eight months of the year, copper imports were up 3% at 3.62 million tons, the data showed.
That was in line with analysts’ expectations for yearly growth of less than 3% in China’s copper consumption in 2024, slowing from last year’s rate of more than 5%.
Strong production also weighed down imports.
Despite a marginal monthly decline, China’s refined copper output kept above a million tons in August, beating expectations in a survey by information provider Shanghai Metals Market.
In the wake of strong output, imports of copper concentrate last month stood at 2.57 million tons, the highest figure since last August, customs data showed.
Copper concentrate imports totalled 18.64 million tons for the first eight months, up 3.2% from a year earlier.
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