Bloomberg News reported that copper imports by China tumbled to the lowest level in 20 months as a week long holiday slowed customs procedures amid high local inventories.

The General Administration of Customs said that inbound shipments of refined metal, alloy and products were 298,102 tonnes last month. That compares with 351,000 tons in January and 484,569 tons a year earlier.

Customs data showed that total imports by China fell 15.2% in February as exports jumped 21.8%.

Mr Louis Kuijs chief China economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc said that Data in the first two months of the year are distorted by the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell in January in 2012 and was in February this year.

Mr Fang Junfeng an analyst at Shanghai Cifco Futures Company said that “The holiday is the main factor for the decline. I don’t see much change on the spot market so far, no signs of particularly strong demand, nor deterioration.”