Online inquiry data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China's copper scrap imports in May were 185,200 mt, down 9.55% MoM and 6.53% YoY. Among them, shipments from Thailand fell by 15% to around 21,200 mt, while shipments from Japan and the US both dropped by about 40%, each falling below 20,000 mt. As a result, Thailand became China's largest copper scrap supplier. Recently, there has been much discussion about the US tariff policies. Although Sino-US trade relations eased in early May, they still faced a 10% tariff. The unfavorable SHFE/LME price ratio for importing copper scrap from the US led to a continuous decline in copper scrap shipments from the US to China.
Source: General Administration of Customs
