Global copper market at 295,000 tn deficit in Sep, says study group

The global refined copper market deficit widened to 295,000 tn in September from 234,000 tn in the year-ago period, the International Copper Study Group said in a report.

In January-September, global output increased by nearly 2.3% year on year to 19.0 mln tn.

China, the world's top producer of refined copper, saw an increase in output of 2.5% year over year, but Chile, the world's second-largest producer, saw a 4% decline in output as a result of operational issues and smelter maintenance shutdowns.

According to the report, the Democratic Republic of the Congo saw a 17% increase in production as a result of ramping up new solvent extraction and electro-winning plants in addition to increasing the capacity of both existing and new plants.

Global secondary production from scrap rose 0.3% to 3.10 mln tn in Jan-Sep.

Global demand for the red metal jumped 2.6% to nearly 19.30 mln tn in the first nine months of the year, according to the report.

"The COVID-19 related global lockdown has had a notable negative impact on the world economy and subsequently on key copper end-use sectors in all regions excluding China. Although global demand recovered in 2021 from the sharp fall seen in 2020, it still remains below pre-pandemic levels in some countries," the global body said.

During Jan-Sep, the demand from all countries, excluding China, is estimated to have increased 1.2% on year, while consumption in China grew 3.8%, the study group said.

The average monthly global copper mine capacity currently stands at 2,264.2 mln tn, as against 2,156.4 mln tn a year ago. The mine utilisation rate fell to 79.2% from 80.4% a year ago due to COVID-19 restrictions, and as sustained rates of infection due to the Omicron variant constrained mine output in several countries at the beginning of the year.

The global copper mine capacity rose nearly 5% to 20.38 mln tn in Jan-Sep due to an additional production at new or expanded mines.

Copper stocks at major exchanges were at 203,404 tn, up 6.5% since the end of December 2021, the group said.

With inputs from Agencies.