Copper Stockpiles Dropping 50% in China May Spur Imports

Copper stockpiles in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal, may have dropped 50 percent in the past two months, potentially spurring more imports and higher prices.

Inventories in bonded warehouses, used to store shipments before duties are paid, may have declined to about 300,000 metric tons, according to estimates from traders and analysts in China including Shanghai East Asia Futures Co. The warehouses, whose holdings aren’t disclosed, contained about 600,000 tons at the end of March, according to Standard Bank Plc.