BEIJING: China’s unwrought copper imports in the first two months of 2024 rose 2.6% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Thursday, thanks to improving demand.

Arrivals of unwrought copper and products in China, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal, were 902,000 metric tons in January and February, up from 879,000 tons in the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China combines import data for January and February into one release to smooth out the impact of the Lunar New Year holidays, which fall in either of the two months each year.

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The yearly growth indicated better domestic demand compared to the same period last year when China had just dropped its COVID restrictions, said He Tianyu, a copper analyst at commodity research house CRU.

Despite the growth from a relatively low base last year, copper demand in the first two months this year was limited given the Lunar New Year holiday break as well as high inventories and output in China, He said.

Imports of copper concentrate came in at 4.66 million tons for the first two months of the year, up 0.6% on a year earlier.