The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) announced publication of May 2019 Copper Bulletin which outlines preliminary copper demand and supply data for the month of February this year.
The preliminary data suggests marginal decline of nearly 1.8% in world copper mine production during the initial two-month period of the 2019. The concentrate production was down by 1.3%, whereas SX-EW production declined by 4%. The mine production growth in a few countries was offset by declines in Chile and Indonesia. The production in Chile witnessed 6% decline; whereas the Indonesian concentrate output slumped by almost 50%. The countries which reported production growth include the DRC, Zambia, Peru, Australia, China and Mongolia, ICSG Copper Bulletin said.
The world refined copper production remained essentially flat during Jan-Feb ’19. The primary production declined marginally by 0.6%. On the contrary, secondary production from scrap witnessed slight increase by 0.3%. The continued expansion of capacity led to increased production by China. Countries such as Australia, Brazil and Poland also contributed to the growth. The growth was more or less offset by production declines in Chile, India, the DRC and Zambia.
The apparent refined copper usage remained essentially unchanged. China and India reported usage growth, which were offset by reduced usage in Japan, the EU and the U.S.
The world refined copper balance for the first two months of 2019 indicates marginal surplus of nearly 40,000t.
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