China's November refined copper exports hit 2nd-highest on record

Dec 22 (Reuters) - China's exports of refined copper surged in November to their second-highest monthly level on record, customs data showed at the weekend, as a price arbitrage made it more profitable to sell metal overseas than on the domestic market.

Exports from China, the world's biggest copper consumer, came in at 142,991 metric tons last month, more than double the total of just under 66,000 tons in October and more than eight times higher than 16,800 in November 2024.

As a net importer of copper, China typically does not send large volumes overseas, but a rally in London Metal Exchange copper prices CUCM3 to record highs this year has made exports an attractive option, allowing smelters and traders to fetch a better price than on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

Benchmark three-month LME copper set an all-time peak just shy of $12,000 per ton on Monday [MET/l].

The monthly record for China's refined copper exports is 157,751 tons, which was set in June 2024, the month after LME copper hit a then-record $11,104.50.

More than one-third - 57,659 tons - of China's total refined copper exports in November were bound for the United States, the customs data showed, marking the biggest monthly total for that destination this year.

Copper has been flooding into the U.S. amid the prospect of President Donald Trump placing an import tariff on refined copper from 2027.

Chinese copper brands are not deliverable on the U.S. Comex exchange, but the customs data showed almost all of the shipments from China coming out of bonded warehousing, where the metal stored is likely not of Chinese origin.

Other key export destinations in November included Italy and Taiwan, where the LME has warehousing.