U.S. buyers are increasingly turning to copper from the Democratic Republic of Congo, helping drive record imports from the African producer as industrial consumers capitalise on discounts to COMEX-approved brands.
Copper cathode deliveries from the world's second-biggest copper-producing nation hit a record 53,290 metric tons in July, according to U.S. trade data. That gave Congo a 23.9% share of overall imports, which exceeded 220,000 tons for the first time as traders rushed to ship metal ahead of a potential tariff.
The numbers illustrate the rise in popularity of Congo's copper in the United States, which imported less than 32,000 tons of copper from the country in the whole of 202, Reuters reported.
The increase is even more noteworthy given that no copper brands from the Congo are deliverable on the U.S. COMEX exchange. Only two African copper brands - both from Zambia - are on the COMEX list. More than one-third of COMEX-approved brands are from Chile and Peru.
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