China's implied copper demand falls 20 pct in Oct

SINGAPORE, Nov 23 (Reuters) - China's appetite for refined copper fell 20 percent in October to just over 544,000 tonnes as imports slowed, exports rose and stocks ballooned towards five-year highs, Reuters calculations based on official data showed. Demand for all base metals, except tin, slowed last month from September, led by a 37 percent slump in nickel consumption. For the the first 10 months of the year, however, apparent copper consumption rose 45.6 percent to just over 6 million tonnes -- about a third of estimated annual output globally, On an annualised basis China is on track to consume 7.2 million tonnes of copper, 14 million tonnes of aluminium and almost 5 million tonnes of zinc. SOURCE: Reuters calculations based on data from National Bureau of Statistics, China Customs Administration and the Shanghai Futures Exchange. " (Reporting by Nick Trevethan)