Global Copper Smelting Rises on Strong China Output

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Global copper smelting activity improved in March, according to the SAVANT Global Metals Monitoring Index, with inactive capacity declining by 0.4 percentage points to 11.7%. The recovery was largely driven by China, where inactive capacity fell by 1.1% to just 3.9%.

China’s continued smelting capacity expansion pushed active capacity to a record 10.73 million tonnes (Mt), up more than 775,000 tonnes year-on-year and well above the three-year average. Regional activity in East and South Central China rose by 3.3% and 1.7% respectively, reflecting improved downstream demand after earlier weakness caused by elevated copper prices.

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However, outside China, disruptions weighed on global output. In Iran, both the Sarchesmeh and Khatoon Abad smelters in Kerman province went offline in late March and early April. Combined with ongoing outages at the Mount Isa smelter in Australia, this pushed Asia-Pacific inactivity levels higher.

Elsewhere, smelting activity declined across most regions except Africa, where operations remained strong. Europe retained the lowest inactivity rate at 6.2%, while North America recorded the weakest performance, with inactivity rising sharply to 32.3%.