China's refined copper imports rose by 11% to 301990 tonnes in May 2012 on m-o-m basis while it rose significantly by 103% on y-o-y basis, as per latest data released by the General Administration of Customs. China is the world's largest copper consumer.
According to the customs data, country's refined copper imports increased sharply by 81% to 1.6 million tons in January-May 2012 compared to the same period last year.
Chinese copper concentrate imports in the first five months of 2012 advanced by 24% to 2.9 million tons on y-o-y and its May imports gained by 44% to 667,904 tons o y-o-y basis.
According to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), during the first quarter of 2012, global apparent usage of copper grew by 9% on year-on-year, principally owing to strong growth in Chinese apparent usage.
Based on a 99% increase in net imports of refined copper, China's apparent usage grew by 32% in the first quarter compared with that in the first quarter of 2011 and accounted for 43% of world usage. China's copper mine production increased by 28% in the first quarter of 2012 while its refined production was up by 9% year-on-year.
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