ICSG Publishes Latest Edition of Copper Bulletin

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The preliminary data for world copper supply and demand for the month of March 2019 indicates that the market ended in nominal deficit during the first quarter of the year. The June 2019 Copper Bulletin published by the International Copper Study Group (ICSG) states that refined copper market balance indicates a deficit of approximately 30,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the current year.

The world copper mine production saw a decline of nearly 1.3% during the initial quarter of 2019. The concentrate production has declined by about 1%, whereas the SX-EW output has dropped by 3.5%. The production growth reported by many countries was offset by notable production declines in Chile and Indonesia. The Chilean output was down by 5%. Also, Indonesian concentrate production saw significant decline by 52%. The major producing countries to witness production increase included DRC, Zambia, Peru, Australia, China and Mongolia.

The world refined copper output declined by around 1.1% in Q1 2019. The primary production reported a decline of 1.5%, whereas the secondary production was up marginally by 0.7%. The biggest decline was seen in India, whose production tumbled by 45% over the previous year, ICSG Bulletin noted.

The apparent refined copper usage increased marginally by 0.8% in Q1 ’19, boosted by 4% growth in apparent usage by China. The demand increased in India, but saw decline in the EU and the US. Japan reported flat demand.