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China Nov copper imports hit one-year high

China's copper imports increased in November to a oneyear high, custom-mades information revealed on Tuesday, sustained by shipments from Africa and purchases to restock domestic inventories.

Imports of unwrought copper and items stood at 528,000 heaps last month, up 4.3% from October's imports, information from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The figure was the greatest because last November, when imports reached 550,566 loads.

The data consists of anode, fine-tuned, alloy and semi-finished copper items.

The greater imports came amidst a drop in copper costs, in China and globally, as investors sold bullish positions on the capacity for tariffs under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and dissatisfaction over the absence of aggressive Chinese stimulus.

There was a boost in copper shipments from Africa, primarily from the properties owned by Chinese business like Zijin Mining Group and CMOC Group, said Zhao Yongcheng, principal analyst at Criteria Mineral Intelligence ( BMI), ahead of the information release.

These African-produced cathodes still offer higher margins due to their lower production expense, Zhao stated.

The greater imports likewise came as domestic stocks decreased further over the previous month.

Deliverable copper stocks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange << CU-STX-SGH > fell last month to a nine-month low to 108,775 lots on Nov. 29, down 29% from 153,221 tons on Nov. 1.

For the first 11 months of the year, unwrought copper imports totalled 5.13 million tons, a year-on-year boost of 1.7%, the data revealed.

Imports of copper concentrate last month stood at 2.25 million loads, down 7.8% from a year earlier.

Copper concentrate imports amounted to 25.6 million lots for the very first 11 months, up 2.2% from a year previously.

(source: Reuters)