China’s copper imports grew by 85pc to 670,929mt in January-May compared to 361,873mt in the same period last year, China’s Customs reported.
In May, the Asian nation’s copper scrap imports doubled to 139,444mt, from 69,496mt in the same month last year, the data indicated.
However, copper imports declined by 17pc from 167,767mt in the prior month, making May the second successive month to witness monthly declines in copper cargoes arriving into China.
Malaysia led the copper scrap supply into China with 25,280mt followed by Japan with 20,390mt, the US with 17,998mt, Hong Kong with 9,763mt, and Thailand with 7,595mt.