World Copper Market Ended in Deficit During First Quarter

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) indicate that global copper market recorded marginal deficit during the initial three-month period of the current year. The global copper market recorded deficit of 189 kt during the quarter. This follows a deficit of 473 kt recorded during the whole of the previous year.

The reported copper metal stock stood higher by 94.5 kt at the end of March 2022, when compared with end-December 2021 levels. The net deliveries into Shanghai warehouses were 63.9 kt. The Comex stocks of the metal witnessed increase by 4.3 kt.

The world copper mine production from January to March this year totalled 5.19 million tonnes, slightly higher by 0.1% when compared with the corresponding quarterly period a year before. The global refined copper output too recorded modest increase over the previous year. The refined production totalled 6.0 million tonnes, marginally higher by 0.6% when compared with the previous year. The WBMS report notes that significant increases were recorded in China, where production rose by 65 kt.

The global copper demand edged higher by 4.2% in Jan-Mar ‘22 to 6.209 million tonnes, than the total recorded during Jan-Mar ’21.

The monthly refined copper production totalled 2,023.9 kt in March 2022, whereas the demand totalled 2,144.4 kt.

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