China’s copper output fell 1.4% in June

SHANGHAI, Jul 8 (SMM) – China’s copper cathode output fell less than expected in June as a smelter delayed maintenance and as some smelters ramped up production after blister copper supply tightness eased.

An SMM survey showed that China produced 759,200 mt of copper cathode last month, down 1.42% from May but up 4.25% from June 2019. The output decline came after three consecutive months of gains, but June’s production was higher than the expectations of 734,200 mt.

For the first six months of 2020, China’s copper cathode output stood at 4.43 million mt, up 3.72% from the same period last year.

Wider copper scrap discounts against cathode sparked the release of stockpiles of copper scrap, while increased imports improved supply of blister copper and lifted refining charges (RCs) by 250 yuan/mt from a month earlier. Copper ore supply tightness, however, has yet to ease, and its impact on smelters is spreading.

China’s production of copper cathode is expected to extend its decline in July, decreasing 2.79% from June to 738,000 mt, in view of maintenance at a number smelters, and the tally for the first seven months of the year will come in at 5.17 million mt.

July’s output will be 2.28% lower on a year-over-year basis, narrowing the increase in January-to-July output to 2.82%.