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Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- China's imports of copper and the metal's products in July dropped for the first time in six months, declining from a record, after stockpiles increased in the world's largest consumer.

The EU energy package has officially come into force with two Directives and three Regulations aimed at creating an integrated Europe-wide energy market that will drive the first steps toward a smart grid. The gas and electricity market Directives require that EU member states implement "intelligent metering systems that shall assist the active participation of consumers". By 2020, the Directive targets that 80% of households in Europe should be equipped with smart electricity meters and that a complete rollout should be achieved by 2022.

"Nine European countries have today signed a major agreement to develop the world's first large-scale offshore wind energy grid in the North and Irish seas, providing a boost to the continent's fast-expanding offshore wind industry. UK energy minister Lord Hunt joined with ministers from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland to sign the agreement on the sidelines of today's European Council meeting in Brussels."

"The line between Jandira and Cotia is the world's first commercial installation of Lo-Sag conductors that use a carbon fiber composite core to save weight and double capacity."

Jungwoo Metal recently launched the copper press fittings it has successfully developed for the first time in South Korea.

Nexans reported organic revenue growth of 0.6% to €1.75 billion ($2.3 billion) in all activities in the first quarter, down from 13% growth in the previous year. The group reported strong growth for the first quarter 2012 for copper cables in South America and fibre cables and components in Scandinavia and France. The company did not supply a specific figure for the telecom business, which is now grouped in the transmission, distribution and operators division. Nexans said its operating margin at 30th June should be around 3.5% as a result of competition in underground cables and delays in invoicing high voltage products. At the end of March 2012, net debt came to €566 million ($748.1 million) compared with €222 million ($293.4 million) at the end of December 2011. This increase can mainly be attributed to the acquisition of AmerCable, finalised on 29th February for an enterprise value of €211 million ($278.9 million).

Data released by the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) indicates that in the first three quarters of this year China's production of copper semis reached 7.57Mt and apparent consumption reached 7.79Mt. This denotes a growth rate of 4.4% and 3.0% respectively.