China imported 2.4 million metric tons of copper concentrate in May, customs data showed on Monday, dropping 18% from the record amount set in April even as smelters sustained output levels.
Versus the same month a year earlier, imports rose 5.8%, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.
Year to date, imports were up 7.4% at 12.4 million tons.
The on-month fall was not surprising considering the record set in April, but the extent of decline was more than expected because smelters have not reduced output, said a Beijing-based analyst at a futures firm.
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Elevated prices of sulphuric acid as a by-product of smelting helped offset deeply negative Treatment and Refining Charges (TC/RC), a barometer of smelter profitability, four market sources previously said.
Imports of unwrought copper and copper products fell 16.9% on year and 2.5% on month to 427,000 tons, the data showed. Year to date, imports fell 6.7% to 2.17 million tons.
Unwrought copper and copper product imports into China, the world’s leading copper and aluminium consumer, include copper anodes, refined copper, alloys and semi-finished products.
China in May exported 547,000 tonnes of unwrought aluminium and aluminium products, including primary, alloy and semi-finished products, up 5.6% on month but down 3.2% on year.
The year-to-date volume fell 5.1% to 2.43 million tonnes.
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