China’s copper imports drop in October as high prices curb buying

SHANGHAI: China’s copper imports dropped in October, official data showed on Friday, as consumers shied away from restocking due to high prices for the metal used in power and construction.

Copper imports slid to 438,000 metric tons in October from 485,000 tons a month earlier, a 9.7% drop, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Unwrought copper and copper product imports into China, the world’s largest consumer, include anodes, refined metal, alloys and semi-finished copper products.

Copper prices surged in October, with benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange up by 6.03% over the past month.

It touched a record high of $11,200 per ton in late October. Copper’s gains came as mine disruptions around the world, including Freeport-McMoRan’s force majeure at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia, sparked fears of supply shortages.

Miners Glencore and Codelco lowered their 2025 annual copper production guidance, while Anglo American also reported lower copper production in the first nine months of 2025.

The high prices soured buying appetite in China.

The Yangshan copper premium, which reflects Chinese demand for imported copper, dropped to $36 a ton by the end of October, down from $58 by the end of September.

For the year through October, China imported 4.46 million tons of copper, down from 4.60 million tons during the corresponding period last year.

Copper concentrate imports, which go into smelters, slid to 2.45 million metric tons in October from 2.59 million tons a month earlier.

In the January to October period, China imported 25.09 million tons of copper concentrate, up from 23.33 million tons the corresponding period last year.