The most-traded August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.3 percent at 43,160 yuan ($6,956.58) a tonne on Monday, shrugging off data showing an expected drop in imports by China, but a weak seasonal demand outlook at the top consumer kept prices of the metal near their lowest since late April. Shanghai nickel was the day's outperformer, climbing 1.8 percent to close at 100,570 yuan a tonne, just off a session high of 100,600 yuan.
China's imports of copper fell 16.3 percent from a month ago to 360,000 tonnes in May, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. Imports in the first four months of the year had slid 14.7 percent from a year ago. "The drop in imports was within market expectations. It was already priced in," said Guo Hao, an analyst at Jinrui Futures in Shenzhen. "Copper prices will remain in the downward trend due to lower imports, seasonally weak demand in June and a stronger dollar," Guo said, adding that the possibility of further loosening of monetary policy in China would lend some support.
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