Copper fell on the London Metal Exchange, heading for a second consecutive weekly loss, after China, the world’s largest user of the metal, reported lower imports from last month and a year ago. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.5 percent to $9,013.50 a metric ton and traded at $9,020 by 1:40 p.m. Singapore time, after earlier gaining as much as 0.4 percent. China imported 254,738 tons of copper and metal products in May, down 3 percent from 262,676 tons in April, according to a statement posted on the customs agency’s website today. The May imports were 36 percent lower than 396,712 tons in May last year, according to Bloomberg Data. “The data are quite soft,” Nicholas Zhu, head of macro- commodity research for Asia at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Shanghai, said by phone. Still, “I don’t expect a big price decline in copper as a result of lower imports. Manufacturing in China over all is still expanding.” July-delivery copper in New York fell 0.2 percent to $4.098 per pound, reversing an earlier advance. August-delivery metal advanced for the first time in four days on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, gaining as much as 1.1 percent to 68,090 yuan ($10,511) a ton and last traded at 67,610 yuan a ton. -- With assistance from Helen Sun in Shanghai. Editors: Richard Dobson, Jarrett Banks To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@Bloomberg.net

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