May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Copper imports by China, the largest consumer, declined for the first time in three months in April as domestic stockpiles rose.
Inbound shipments of refined copper were 309,772 metric tons last month, the Beijing-based customs office said today. That’s 8.1 percent below the 337,125 tons in March and 2.6 percent less than the 317,947 tons a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Copper stockpiles monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange expanded in April to the highest level since at least 2003 after first-quarter imports and production gained. Chinese after-tax copper prices have mostly traded at a discount to those in London after February, according to Bloomberg calculations.
“The numbers are slightly lower than March but are still considered high,” Fang Junfeng, an analyst at China International Futures (Shanghai) Co. said. “Consumption has been steady, however supplies are ample and unless the arbitrage window stays open, we’re probably not going to see monthly imports surpass March levels.”
Copper in London rebounded as its drop to a three-month low yesterday increased its discount to Shanghai prices, encouraging purchases by Chinese traders. Metal for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange gained as much as 0.8 percent to $6,664.5 a ton and traded at $6,614 at 3:43 p.m. in Singapore, after falling as much as 1.3 percent.
‘Not Short’
August copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost as much as 2.3 percent to 52,750 yuan ($7,726) a ton, before ending at 53,670 yuan.
China is “not short of copper” at the moment, according to Maike Futures Co., a unit of Maike Group, one of the country’s largest copper importers.
“Last year’s levels were exceptional because of stockpiling and investment demand, and looking at the numbers so far, China has over-imported in the first half and imports will definitely decline in the second half because demand will be weaker,” Maike’s analyst Deng Hong said in an interview yesterday, without giving estimates.
