2009 March Cu Output Data Analysis

SHANGHAI, Apr. 17 (SMM) --
Copper Concentrates:
According to the statistics, domestic output of copper concentrate was 79.9kt during March, up 17.3% YoY.  Cumulative output was 201.8kt from January to March, up 10.4% YoY. Output of copper concentrate in January fell to 56.7kt, but as copper prices rebounded sharply during 1Q, operations at domestic copper concentrate producers will gradually return to normal. In this context, domestic output will continue to increase during April.
Refined Copper:
According to the statistics, domestic output of refined copper was 319.4kt during March, up 5.2% YoY, but unchanged from February levels. Cumulative output was 921.9kt from January to March, up 8.7% YoY. Since early March, the rapid increase in copper prices has worried copper smelters, but domestic output of refined copper remains unchanged compared to February levels due to tight scrap copper and imported copper concentrate supplies. Since increases in scrap copper imports will ease tight raw materials supply, copper output should increase slightly in the near future.

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