By Anna Stablum June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Copper may fall in London for the first time in three days on concern about the outlook for demand after a decline in imports of metal into China, the world’s biggest consumer. Inbound shipments of copper and products were 396,712 metric tons in May, the customs office said. That was down 9.1 percent from April and a 6.1 percent drop from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg calculations. Metal delivered in May probably was booked about six weeks earlier, when prices were higher than now, Citigroup Inc. analyst David Thurtell said. “Considering where prices were when most of this metal was purchased, they are very strong,” he said of the import figures by phone from London today. Copper for delivery in three months fell $10, or 0.2 percent, to $6,330 a ton at 9:50 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. The contract rebounded from a decline of as much as 1.9 percent. Futures for July delivery rose 0.1 percent to $2.852 a pound on the Comex in New York. LME copper has slid 22 percent from this year’s intraday high of $8,043.75 a ton on April 12, pulled down by concern about steps taken by China to restrain its economy and the potential spread in the euro zone of Greece’s fiscal crisis. Prices retreated in seven of the last eight weeks. The declines have spurred Chinese demand, according to Thurtell. ‘Strong Buyers’ “We are hearing they have been strong buyers in recent days,” he said. China imported 436,350 tons of copper and products in April and 422,670 tons in May 2009. In the first five months of the year, inbound shipments rose 8.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.9 million tons. Import figures for June may show further “weakness” before a third-quarter rebound, Tom Price, an analyst at UBS AG, said by e-mail. China imported 330,000 tons of scrap copper in May, down from 371,705 tons in April. Inbound shipments were 328,265 tons a year earlier. Scrap imports from January to May gained 15 percent to 1.68 million tons. Inventories of copper tracked by the LME slipped for a 17th day today to 466,400 tons, the lowest level since Dec. 11. Bookings to remove metal from warehouses fell 4.2 percent to 23,950 tons. Nickel for three-month delivery on the LME declined 1.8 percent to $18,930 a ton and zinc fell 2 percent to $1,719 a ton. Aluminum slid 0.5 percent to $1,919 a ton, lead dropped 1.4 percent to $1,655 a ton and tin rose 0.7 percent to $16,435 a ton. To contact the reporter on the story: Anna Stablum in London at astablum@bloomberg.net.

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