China’s imports of unwrought copper fell to a 16-month low in August, driven by weaker demand across various sectors. According to customs data, imports totaled 415,000 metric tons, a decrease of 12.3% compared to 473,330 tons in August of the previous year, and down 5.3% from July.
This decline reflects ongoing challenges in China’s manufacturing sector, which has been impacted by a protracted property crisis. Manufacturing activity dropped to a six-month low in August, exacerbated by falling factory gate prices and reduced orders. Additionally, car sales in China fell for the fifth consecutive month.
The reduced demand has resulted in high inventories, which in turn has kept global copper prices subdued. For the first eight months of the year, copper imports increased by 3% to 3.62 million tons, aligning with analysts’ forecasts for a yearly growth of less than 3% in China’s copper consumption for 2024, a slowdown from over 5% last year.
Despite a slight decline in imports, China’s refined copper output remained robust, exceeding one million tons in August. This strong production level contributed to an increase in copper concentrate imports, which reached 2.57 million tons—the highest since last August.