Copper imports increase 115%

CHINA'S refined copper imports, the biggest in the world, more than doubled in the first seven months of 2007 from a year earlier, the Beijing-based customs office said.

Imports of the metal and its alloys rose a whopping 115 percent to 1.03 million metric tons from January to July, the customs office said yesterday, citing revised final data. Imports were 103,089 tons in July, up 65.1 percent from a year earlier, it said. This compares with 113,074 tons in June, according to Bloomberg News data.

Scrap copper imports rose 17.7 percent to 2.99 million tons in the first seven months and gained 12.4 percent to 395,505 tons in July from a year earlier.

Copper concentrate imports gained 27.4 percent to 2.64 million tons in the period and rose 33 percent to 367,505 tons in July. Concentrates typically contain about one-third of the metal and require smelting.

Exports of aluminum fell 56.8 percent to 314,639 tons in the period and fell 61.1 percent to 40,938 tons in July. Imports of aluminum dropped 47.7 percent to 165,607 tons in the seven-month period and fell 59.1 percent to 18,353 tons in July.