Singapore 19/08/2016 - After seeing flat growth in June, Chinese refined copper metal output picked up in July to increase 9.6 percent year-on-year to 722,000 tonnes, according to latest data published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Production in July increased by 5.2 percent compared to June.
This took output to 4.75 million tonnes in the first seven months of this year, up 7.9 percent from the same period last year.
“Many Chinese smelters are still producing as current treatment charges make it profitable for them to do so,” said a Shanghai-based trader.
China’s output of copper fabricated products increased 13.3 percent year-on-year but slipped 13 percent month-on-month to 1.76 million tonnes in July.
This took year-to-date production to 11.39 million tonnes, an increase of 12.9 percent from January-July last year.