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Informist, Wednesday, Jul 24, 2024

MUMBAI – The global production of refined copper in Jan-May rose 6.1% on year to 11.57 mln tn, and consumption rose 3.7% to 11.16 mln tn. This led to a widening in surplus of the red metal to 416,000 tn in Jan-May from 154,000 tn in the same period last year, the International Copper Study Group said in a report released on Monday.

Production in China, the largest producer of refined copper, increased 7% on year in Jan-May due to the commissioning and expansion of primary and secondary smelters and refineries, the report said. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, production rose 17% from a year ago due to the continued ramp-up of new or expanded electrowinning plants, according to the report. China and Congo account for about 53% of world refined copper production.

However, output in another major producer, Chile, fell 1.4% on year because of a decline in primary electrolytic production. Refined copper production rose 3.4% on year in Japan, the report said. Global secondary production from scrap rose 6% on year to 1.93 mln tn in the first five months of the year.

In Jan-May, demand for copper from all countries, excluding China, is estimated to have risen 1.5% on year. Demand from China grew 5.5%, the study group said.

The average monthly global copper mine capacity is currently 2.39 mln tn against 2.30 mln tn a year ago. During Jan-May, the mine utilisation rate rose to 77.5% from 77.4% a year ago, the group said.

Copper stocks at major exchanges rose 137%, or 293,838 tn, to 507,688 tn in June compared with stocks held at the end of December, the group said. On the London Metal Exchange, the average cash price fell 4.8% to $9,641.60 per tn in June from $10,129.07 per tn in May.

At 1335 IST, the most-active three-month copper contract on the LME was $9,158.0 per tn, down 0.1% from the previous close.  End

US$1 = 83.71 rupees

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Sandeep Sinha

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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