BEIJING: The release today of China’s copper scrap import data confirmed weakness in underlying copper demand in the world’s largest copper consumer. China’s copper scrap imports stood at a gross weight of 236k tones, the lowest since February and down by almost 25 percent on the previous month.
China’s net refined copper imports in October fell to a three-and-half-year low of just 167k tones. That said, total imports of copper units, although still a little soft, are much stronger than the headline refined copper imports. Renewed government emphasis on infrastructure spending and efforts to ensure that economic growth remains strong is likely to see further strong growth in copper demand. This would see a rebound in China’s copper imports from October’s depressed levels.
