UPDATE 1-China Feb copper imports jump 41.5 pct to record

* Feb copper imports surge 96,610 tonnes vs Jan to record

* SRB stocking seen supportive, fabricator demand firmer

* Aluminium imports up 6.6 pct vs Jan to over 60,000 tonnes

* here

By Polly Yam

HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - China's total copper imports surged 41.5 percent to a record last month, data showed, topping expectations on state-backed strategic buying and after stronger Chinese prices had spurred merchants to raise spot imports.

The data follows other signals -- both macro-economic and in the metals market -- that the Chinese economy and its demand for raw materials is emerging from the steep downturn seen late last year, a supportive sign for beaten-down global commodity prices.

China, the world's top consumer of copper, imported 329,311 tonnes of unwrought copper, including anode, refined and alloy, and semi-finished copper products in February versus 232,701 tonnes in January, the General Administration of Customs said on its website on Wednesday. (www.customs.gov.cn)

"The Feb imports were bigger than we had expected. The big imports should have come from higher inflow of refined copper due to SRB's buying and the spread between Shanghai and LME prices," Jing Chuan, chief researcher at Great Wall Futures in Shanghai said.

China will give details on imports of refined copper alone, which accounts for three-quarters of imports, in about two weeks.

Analysts and traders had expected February's refined copper imports to surpass December's record high 211,527 tonnes after the arbitrage for importing copper from London Metal Exchange warehouses gapped wide on restocking by end-users and repairs at some Chinese smelters including Yunnan Copper (000878.SZ).

State-backed stockpiling also pushed up imports.

The State Reserves Bureau, which is Beijing's commodity stockpile management arm, is believed to have contracted about 300,000 tonnes of imports to build strategic stockpiles, most of it arriving in the first half. [ID:nHKG124633] [ID:nHKG128327]

"The high level of copper imports has been caused by the strong arbitrage opportunities and a big number was expected...so a record high for refined copper will come as no surprise," Yingxi Yu, analyst at Barclays Capital in Singapore said.

"The decline in aluminium exports was also expected, highlighting the relative strength of domestic prices."

FABRICATOR DEMAND