China nickel ore imports from Indonesia fall 29.4 pct in July

HONG KONG Aug 21 (Reuters) - Chinese imports of nickel ore from Indonesia in July fell 29.4 percent from the previous month to 1.42 million tonnes, after posting a 50 percent drop in June, customs data showed on Tuesday.

Imports from Indonesia were 2.01 million tonnes in June, down from record 4.05 million tonnes in May after top supplier Indonesia raised taxes and cut exports.

China's total imports of nickel ore and concentrate were 5.97 million tonnes in July versus 5.77 million tonnes in June and a record 6.55 million tonnes in May.

China is the world's leading consumer and producer of nickel. (Reporting by Polly Yam; Editing by Joseph Radford)