China copper imports sink as holiday deepens slowdown

Chinese copper imports fell sharply in February, customs data showed on Wednesday, as the Lunar New Year holiday deepened a slowdown in demand from the world's top consumer and producer. Copper imports to China, the world's leading copper and aluminium consumer, came in at 340,000 tonnes in February, down 10.5 percent on a month earlier and down 19 percent from a year ago, the General Administration of Customs showed.
For the first two months of the year, imports were 720,000 tonnes, down 15.8 percent.
The weak data will underscore growing concerns about China's waning appetite for refined metal amid a build-up in inventory, although the drop in refined metal also partially reflects the country's growing output of refined metal.