Copper market records 209 kt surplus during Jan-Feb '15

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): The global copper market has recorded a surplus of 209,000 tonnes during January to February this year, as mentioned in the latest metals balances report published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS). It must be noted that the worldwide copper market had reported a surplus of 241,000 tonnes for the entire year 2014.

The global mine production during the period from January to February this year totaled 3.09 million tonnes. The mine production has grown by 3.5% when matched with the corresponding two-month period in 2014. Meantime, global refined copper output jumped higher by 5.7% over the previous year to 3.68 million tonnes. Chinese refined copper output reported significant increase of 139,000 tonnes during this period. EU-28 region’s production grew by 3.0% during January top February 2015.

The global copper demand during Jan-Feb ’15 stood at 3.471 million tonnes, down by less than 1% when compared with 3.502 million tonnes during the same period in 2014. The Chinese apparent consumption recorded sharp fall of 24,100 tonnes during this period to total 1.597 million tonnes. The Chinese demand accounted for nearly 46% of the global demand. Also, EU-28 apparent consumption dropped 2.2% from 2014 levels to 512,000 tonnes.

According to the report, reported stocks of the metal surged higher by 174,000 tonnes during the two-month period.

The refined copper production during February 2015 alone totaled 1815.8 kt. The consumption during the month totaled 1,663 kt.