BEIJING, Aug 8 (Reuters) - China's imports of copper and copper products in July rose from last year as the availability of credit improved even as concerns lingered about the world's largest producer's manufacturing activity, according to Reuters calculations.
For July, arrivals of unwrought copper aCNIMPCOPP totaled 390,000 tonnes, up 8.3 percent from a year ago and unchanged for a third straight month on a month-on-month comparison, according to Reuters calculations. That includes anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products.
The July figure was calculated based on the January to July import figure of 2.62 million tonnes released by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday. That figure was down 15.2 percent from a year earlier, customs said.
China has imported less refined copper this year amid tough restrictions on dollar-denominated credit, and as buyers turned instead to cheaper scrap metal after a recovery in copper prices prompted a flood of scrap into the market earlier this year.