Copper prices move down on weak demand

The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) copper prices fell slightly on Friday after a decline in copper imports.

China's copper and copper product imports dropped for the third month in July to 343,000 tons, down 2.9 percent compared to June, customs data showed on Friday.

Some small copper importers have delayed plans to purchase more copper as domestic banks have tightened credit to copper importers due to the negative impact caused by warehouse receipts scandal in Qingdao, Shandong Province, according to a report by metal information provider Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) on Friday.

In addition, domestic copper demand in July was quite weak due to seasonal reasons, the report from SMM said. But copper imports are expected to pick up in August as tighter domestic supply push copper prices up, prompting importers to buy more overseas in preparation for the upcoming demand peak in September and October, the report from SMM said.

On the other hand, despite the robust manufacturing data, China's refined copper imports still fell 8.2 percent to 255,041 tons in June year-on-year.

"It may indicate that even as underlying economic data in China improves, the growing scrutiny on China's copper financing trade may weaken China's apparent copper demand and keep copper prices under pressure," Reuters reported, citing a research note by Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The most-traded copper futures for October finished at 49,710 yuan ($8053.02) per ton on the SHFE on Friday, down 40 yuan from Thursday.

The copper price was down 1.62 percent from the previous Friday, August 1. The trading volume fell 8,840 lots on Friday from Thursday's 305,816 lots.