China’s Refined-Copper Imports Drop Hides Hale Appetite: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- Don't let the drop in China's processed-copper imports fool you: The Asian nation's appetite is still healthy, according to Barclays Plc. While shipments of unwrought copper and products fell to the lowest in a year, ore and concentrate imports climbed to the highest since February. The jump in ore purchases comes as China pushes to do more of the value-added refining itself, diminishing the need for shipments of processed metal from abroad, said Dane Davis, an analyst at Barclays.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Deaux in New York at jdeaux@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter