After five months of record refined copper inflows, China’s imports of the commodity fell to 292,226 metric tons in July from June’s record 378,943 metric tons, Reuters reported. Primary aluminum imports also fell; imports for July were 131,724 metric tons, down from June’s 267,861 metric tons. China is the world’s largest importer of aluminum and copper, but the closure of the arbitrage window that allowed buying at London Metal Exchange prices and selling to Shanghai reduced merchants’ imports of spot refined copper and primary aluminum. While imports have fallen, stocks have risen, with the Shanghai exchange’s CU-STX-SGH copper stocks up 7% last week and aluminum up 9%.
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