ICSG Copper Bulletin: Refined Copper Market Ended in Surplus

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has released its May 2020 Copper Bulletin, which provides preliminary data for February 2020.

In accordance with the data provided by ICSG, the world copper mine production increased marginally by nearly 2% in the initial two-month period of 2020. The concentrate production has increased by 1%, whereas the SX-EW output surged higher by almost 5.8%.

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Chile-the world’s largest copper mine producing country saw its output increase by 4%, aided by recovery from production constraints in early 2019. The adverse weather conditions and operational issues at major mines led to 4% decline in mine output in Peru. The Indonesian output has surged higher significantly by 14%. The Chinese copper mine production registered 12% decline mainly on account of temporary suspension of some mines related to Covid-19 restrictions.

The world refined copper production increased marginally by around 0.6% in the first two months of 2020. The primary production soared by 2.0%, whereas the secondary production edged lower by 6%. The Chilean refined output increased by 14.5%. The production in the DRC was up by 5%, but production in Zambia declined by almost one-fifth due to operational issues and temporary shutdowns.

Meantime, the world apparent refined copper usage dipped by around 2% until February this year.

The ICSG report indicates that the world refined copper market ended in a surplus of around 130,000 tonnes in the first two months of 2020.