China’s imports of copper and the metal’s products tumbled for the first time in six months after an increase in stockpiles. Imports slumped to 406,612 metric tons in July, the Beijing-based customs office said today. That’s 15 percent down from a record 477,217 tons in June, according to Bloomberg data. Copper, used in homes and power cables, doubled in London this year as China, the largest consumer, boosted purchases to a record because of demand spurred by the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus program and state stockpiling. “It’s a long-anticipated drop and nothing really surprising,” Pang Jie, an analyst at Zhejiang Zhongda Futures Co., said by phone today. “We expect further declines over the rest of this year.” China’s scrap copper imports were 450,000 tons in July, customs said. That compares with 278,922 tons in June and is 16 percent less than a year ago, according to Bloomberg data. The country may have stockpiled as much as 400,000 tons of copper in the first half because of sizeable imports and a seasonal slowdown in demand, Macquarie Group Ltd. said July 6. Imports of aluminum and products were 222,858 tons last month, 37 percent less than June, customs data showed.

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