Exclusive: China’s copper cathode output declined in July due to maintenance at some smelters

SHANGHAI, Aug 7 (SMM) — China’s copper cathode output shrank in July as some smelters conducted maintenance to deal with shortage of copper concentrate.

SMM data showed that China’s copper cathode output stood at 749,500 mt in July, down 1.28% on month and 0.75% on year. Output totalled 5.18 million mt in the first seven months of 2020, up 3.05% from the same period last year.

On the other hand, copper cathode output is expected to rise in August as supply of blister copper made of copper scrap has increased and seaborne blister copper arrived at ports.   

SMM expects domestic copper cathode output to rise 5.92% from July and 3.41% from a year earlier to 793,900 mt in August, and total output in the first eight months to increase 3.1% on year to 5.98 million mt.