London 09/06/2016 - Chinese production of refined copper and tin are likely to be higher in June but that of zinc will fall, Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) forecast.
Chinese electrolytic copper output is expected at 649,000 tonnes in June, up a slight 0.2 percent from May, thanks to production restarts by Daye Nonferrous and Chifeng Jinjian after the completion of maintenance, the Chinese metals research firm said in a report on Wednesday.
Chinese electrolytic copper production rose 16.1 percent year-on-year to 648,000 tonnes in May, according to SMM. This took copper production to 3.16 million tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 7.1 percent year-on-year.
The increase is due to the ramp-up of output at newly commissioned capacity and lower production in May last year whereby smelters were carrying out maintenance work, it said.
On tin, SMM estimates production at 15,000 tonnes in June, up 14.5 percent from May. This is due to a production restart by Yunnan Tin after maintenance and increased production from Chifeng Dajingzi Tin Industry Co.
Chinese refined tin production jumped 83.4 percent year-on-year to 13,100 tonnes, taking year-to-date output to 69,900 tonnes. The huge increase is due to production stoppages a year ago by Yunnan Tin and China Tin.
Though Yunnan Tin stopped production in May for maintenance, production was boosted by restarts at smelters in the Hunan and Jiangxi regions as well as production increases by smelters that were encouraged by higher tin prices, SMM said.
It forecasts Chinese refined zinc production at 430,000 tonnes in June, down 2.7 percent from May.
Output in June will be affected by three major zinc smelters carrying out maintenance in June and tighter ore supply, it said.
Tightness in global zinc concentrate supply has forced some Chinese zinc smelters to bring forward maintenance plans while cutting output despite turning to domestic supply due to low treatment charges for overseas concentrates.
Chinese refined zinc production fell 6.2 percent year-on-year to 442,000 tonnes in May, taking year-to-date production to 2.174 million tonnes. This was down 5.2 percent from the same period of last year.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)