By  Paul Ploumis 22 Jul 2015  Last updated at  02:17:56 GMT

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has released preliminary data for the month of April this year in its July 2015 Copper Bulletin. According to preliminary ICSG data, copper production and usage data points to an apparent production deficit, primarily due to strong Chinese apparent demand.

The refined copper market balance for Apr ’15 showed an apparent production deficit of nearly 80,000 metric tonnes. The production surplus for the month, after making seasonal adjustments for global refined copper production and usage, stood at 30,000 metric tonnes. The copper balance for the first four months of the year ended in production surplus of 60,000 metric tonnes as compared with a deficit of 436,000 tonnes during the corresponding period last year.

World refined production increased by nearly 3% during the first four months of 2015. Primary production was up 2%, whereas the secondary production increased by 8.5%. The refined copper production during the month witnessed significant growth of 6% in China. The production by the DRC witnessed an increase of 14%. On the other hand, the refined copper output by Chile, Japan and the US dropped by 4% each. The African and Asian region recorded 7% and 6% rise in refined copper production respectively.

The world copper mine production has increased by around 3% during the first four months of 2015. Concentrate production was up 3% during the period. The mine output from Chile and Indonesia recovered during this period. The mine production by Peru-the world’s third largest copper mine producer, increased by 4%. The production dropped by 6% in the US.

Meantime, global usage of the metal is estimated to have declined by around 4% during January to April in 2015. The Chinese apparent demand dropped 5%. The usage by world countries excluding China has also dropped by 3%. The Russian apparent usage dropped by 43% whereas the EU demand declined 7%. Japanese apparent demand too witnessed sharp decline of 6%.