Copper imports CHINA’S unwrought copper imports in June fell 27.2 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Friday, as a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy continues to weigh on demand for the metal. Arrivals of unwrought copper, including refined and semi-finished copper products, were 326,000 tons last month, the General Administration of Customs said, down 9.7 percent from 361,000 tons in May and the lowest since February. Coal imports COAL imports in June fell 1.4 percent from May to 27.1 million tons, official data showed Friday, as local miners boosted output to ensure adequate supply ahead of summer. For the first half of the year, China brought in a total of 154.49 million tons of the fuel, up 5.8 percent from same period in 2018, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. Crude oil imports CRUDE oil imports rose in June from May on a daily basis but remained off April’s peak, according to media calculations based on customs data issued Friday. That came as many refineries curbed output or conducted maintenance in the face of weaker profit-margins. June imports by the world’s largest crude oil buyer came in at 39.88 million tons, according to media calculations based on data from the General Administration of Customs data. New chemical plant SOUTH AFRICA-BASED chemicals and energy company Sasol Ltd. opened a new chemical plant in eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, according to a Xinhua report Friday. The new plant is Sasol’s largest expansion project in China, that will more than double its alkoxylation production capacity to about 150,000 tons annually in the region. |