Copper Study Group Finds Market at Deficit of 260kt

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The November 2018 Copper Bulletin published by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has outlined the preliminary copper supply and demand data for the month of August this year.

According to ICSG, world copper mine production surged higher by 3% in the first eight months of 2018. The concentrate output was up by 3%, whereas the SX-EW production edged higher by 3.8%. Chile reported 8% jump in production over the previous year, mainly aided by improved production levels at Codelco mines. Indonesian output has surged by almost 27% during this period. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia were the other countries to report increased mine output. Meantime, Canada and the US reported decline in production by 10% and 5.5% respectively.

Meantime, the refined copper production increased marginally by 1% in the initial eight-month period, mainly on the back of 12% surge in secondary production from scrap. On the contrary, primary production declined by 1.3%. China remained as the main contributor to growth in world refined copper production. The condition in India deteriorated further, with the country recording 29% year-on-year decline in output.

As per estimates, world apparent refined copper usage has increased marginally by 2% in Jan-Aug ’18. The Chinese apparent usage increased marginally by 4.5%.

Overall, world refined copper market reported deficit of around 260,000 tonnes during Jan-Aug ’18.