Copper fell for the third consecutive day on speculation that Chinese may curb imports, helping to erode a rally that’s boosted the price more than half this year.
Refined copper imports by China, the world’s largest metals consumer, may slow over the rest of this year as scrap supplies improve.
Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 1% to $4,640 a metric tonne, and traded at $4,665 at 9:37 am Singapore time. Still, contract on the exchange has surged 52% this year on speculation demand will rebound as the global economy recovers.
An indication of a falloff in Chinese import needs is the easing in premiums paid by importer, referring to the difference between prices paid for overseas shipments and spot prices. The premiums are reported to have fallen by more than a third over the last two weeks.
Copper for August delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost as much as 3.4% to 37,420 yuan ($5,486) a tonne, and last traded at 37,560 yuan.
The period from end May through the summer is usually one of lower activity for Chinese copper fabricators as the holiday period takes hold.
Among other LME-traded metals, aluminium slipped 0.2% to $1,541 a tonne and zinc fell 0.3 percent to $1,550 a tonne. Lead and nickel were unchanged at $1,465 and $13,100 a tonne respectively.