Copper sinks

Beijing : Shanghai copper prices fell on Wednesday, tracking a sharp decline in London on Tuesday after London Metal Exchange (LME)refined copper inventories surged and concerns grew over the strength of import demand in top copper consumer China.

On-warrant copper stocks in facilities certified by the LME - metal not earmarked for delivery from warehouses and available for investors - jumped by 28 percent on Tuesday, data showed.

Cancelled LME warrants plunged by 16 percent to 44,000 tonnes, the biggest decline in the past four months, according to brokerage Argonaut Securities. "This decline in cancelled warrants may point to a weak imports appetite from China in January," analyst Helen Lau wrote in a note.

China imported 450,000 tonnes of unwrought copper in December, down 6.9 percent year-on-year, according to customs data released on Tuesday.