* China's Sept unwrought copper imports at 521,000 T-customs
* Open arbitrage to send metal to China swells shipments-analyst
* Copper concs imports at new record high of 1.93 mln T (Adds background, analyst quote)By Tom DalyBEIJING, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China's unwrought copper importssurged to their highest in 2-1/2 years in September, whilecopper concentrate imports climbed an all-time high as theworld's top copper consumer's crackdown on scrap leaves itneeding other forms of the metal.China's imports of copper, which include anode, refined,alloy and semi-finished copper products, rose 24 percent fromAugust to 521,000 tonnes last month, data from the GeneralAdministration of Customs showed on Friday.The September imports were 21.2 percent higher than a yearearlier and were the highest since March 2016, according toReuters records.Copper concentrate and ore imports last month rose 16.3percent from August to 1.93 million tonnes, an all-time monthlyhigh, and were 21.2 percent higher than a year ago. "I think China's copper imports will stay high or breakrecords," said Helen Lau, an analyst at Argonaut Securities inHong Kong. "The main reason is because of the reduced scrapimports because of the waste import restrictions in China."China this year tightened thresholds on impurities in scrapmetal imports and slapped a 25 percent tariff on scrap materialfrom the United States, one of its top suppliers, in August. "Also, the arbitrage window has been open," Lau added,referring to the price difference between Shanghai copperfutures and London Metal Exchange prices that determines whethershipments to China are profitable."That's also expressed in a rising premium at the port ofYangshan" near Shanghai, she added.Yangshan copper imports premiums have been ataround at $120 per tonne since late September, matching levelsnot seen since 2015.Despite the high premiums, which point to strong demand forphysical metal, Lau cautioned that demand for copperend-products "is at risk because of the trade war."
For more details, click on (Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Melanie Burtonin MELBOURNE; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.