China's copper imports fell for the fourth straight month in July

China's copper imports fell about 1 percent in July compare to the previous month, the fourth straight monthly decline, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Saturday, the reason as below: high prices, state stockpiling and an increase in copper scrap inflows dampened buying appetite. Data released by the General Administration of Customs showed that China imported 424,280.3 tons of unwrought copper and copper materials in July, worth 27.08 billion yuan. July imports were down from 428,437.5 tones in June and well below the record high of 762,211 tones set in July 2020. According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in July, some enterprises concentrated on equipment maintenance period, combined with extreme weather such as high temperature and flood disaster in some regions, the expansion of the manufacturing industry weakened compared with the previous month, but the PMI of most industries remained within the business range. China's imports of unwrought and rolled copper and copper materials from January to July were 3,219,071.9 tons, decreased 10.6% year on year, and the average import price was 59,400 yuan per ton, up 39.2%. The amount is 191.35 billion yuan. To ensure stable commodity prices, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration decided to release copper, aluminum and zinc from the state reserve in batches. Following the release of 20,000 tons of copper, 50,000 tons of aluminum and 30,000 tons of zinc on July 5, the second batch of 30,000 tons of copper, 90,000 tons of aluminum and 50,000 tons of zinc will be released in late July. However, Shanghai copper rose much faster than London last month, partly opening an arbitrage window for cheaper overseas metals and leading to a 5 per cent fall in refined copper stocks in bonded warehouses. China imported 1.887 million tons of copper ore and concentrate in July, compared with 1.671 million tons in June. Copper ore and concentrate imports from January to July amounted to 13.385 million tons. China exported 469,030.6 tons of unwrought aluminum and aluminum in July, compared with 3,085,140.6 tons in January-July.

[Reproduced to retain the source - Shanghai nonferrous Metals network]