U.S. Copper Imports Hit a 12-Year Record as LME Stocks Crash

U.S. importers hauled in more than 200,000 tonnes of refined copper in July, the biggest monthly volume in at least 12 years. Add that to what's already sitting in Comex warehouses, LME-registered stock and private port storage, and the country's copper stockpile is now pushing past 1 million tonnes, built almost entirely on the bet that Washington is about to tax refined imports. LME warehouse stocks, however, have fallen for 42 straight sessions, the longest losing streak since 2014, down to just 204,975 tonnes, with nearly half of that already…