UPDATE 1-China Western Mining Plans 100,000 T/yr Copper Smelter

SHANGHAI, Mar. 21 (SMM) &ndash; 
A recent SMM survey of 16 major domestic copper tube/pipe producers (total capacity: 1.04 million mt/yr) revealed the following insights:
1) Operating Rates Up Significantly in March 
According to the survey, the average operating rate at the 16 major domestic copper tube/pipe producers was 82.4% in March, up 6.8% from January&rsquo;s 75.6%, and also up greatly on a yearly basis. Several factors are behind these increases in operating rates. First, the air-conditioning sector, a major consumer of copper tube/pipe is now entering a traditional peak demand period, increasing demand for copper tube/pipe. Second, copper price corrections in March, especially as spot prices fell below RMB 70,000/mt, encouraged downstream producers to make purchases. Third, downstream producers were generally eager to replenish goods at low prices as the peak demand period begins.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
2) Raw Material Inventories Up 
The survey also shows raw material inventories in March were 20.9% of production at the surveyed producers, up 4.7% from January&rsquo;s 16.2%. These higher raw material inventories were closely related to aggressive buying over the past several days while prices were low and downstream demand was growing.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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