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The Japan Copper and Brass Association reported that production of rolled copper products fell by 5.3% y-o-y to 70,670t in August, the biggest fall this year. The decline is linked to weak demand for chips, connectors and automobiles.

The US-based Copper and Brass Servicenter Association, a trade group representing primarily North American brass mills, reported that shipments of brass mills products amounted to 19.68Mlb (8,927t) in September, a decline of 14.9% from August and an annual decline of 8.1%. Shipments of copper sheet fell by 21.7% m-o-m or 961,000lb to 3.45Mlb (436t to 1,565t) and copper rod declined by 14.4% m-o-m or 807,000lb to 4.77Mlb (366t to 2,164t). Shipments of brass sheet and alloy tube also registered declines in September compared to the previous month, 6.9% m-o-m and 37.4% m-o-m respectively. The survey reported that half of participants expected orders to fall in the coming quarter compared to the previous quarter. When asked about lead times, half of the suppliers surveyed reported that their lead times had shortened in September compared to the previous three months.

It was reported that Shandong Xiangrui Copper Semis Co. Ltd. bought a new 320,000t/y copper semis production facility into full operation during late August. The plant produces a variety of products. It's capacity includes 95,000t/y of copper wirerod, 100,000t/y of copper strip, 20,000t/y of overhead railway conductors and 10,500t/y of bare copper wire. Contirod continuous casting technology from Germany will be used for the process.

It was reported that Goldman Sachs anticipates a rise in European copper demand in the first half of 2012, albeit to a lower level of consumption than that which was seen pre-Autumn 2011. The company reasoned that current demand is unsustainably low, caused by fear and destocking, with European orders falling by as much as 20-50% since August 2011. It is thought that a rise in buying from both industry consumers and speculators will begin in early 2012. In addition, the bank expects an acceleration of Chinese demand growth in the first half of 2012.

Imports of copper tube to Japan fell by 36% m-o-m in September to reach 1,271t according to Japan's Ministry of Finance. September's import total was up by 44% y-o-y but still represents the lowest level seen since February 2011. The situation is attributed to recent copper tube supply being very tight due to record air conditioner sales between February 2010 and September 2011 that peaked in August 2011. Since then, there has been a significant easing in copper tube availability as air conditioner manufacturers have opted to drawdown stocks, effectively reducing tube demand. The market is expected to tighten again in 2012 if Hitachi Cable executes its plans to exit from domestic copper tube production.

The TenneT TSO says it has started work on the large-scale expansion of the 110 kV transmission grid in the Noordoostpolder region in the Netherlands. The company added that it has started preparing land for construction at the site of a planned new substation at Ens, and on Westermeerweg near the site of the new Noordoostpolder Wind Farm. In early August, work will start at Westermeerweg on the construction of a 16-km-long underground cable to Emeloord, which will be followed by the construction of the cable section from Emeloord to Ens. Cables will be delivered later this summer. TenneT expects the first turbine of the Noordoostpolder Wind Farm to be connected to the HV grid in Q1 2014. By then, a total of 27 km of cable will have been installed.

According to a survey conducted by the Copper & Brass Servicenter Association, a US-based trade group, US servicenter shipments of copper and brass products amounted to 22.7Mlbs (10,297t) in April, down by 7.0% m-o-m and down by 0.9% y-o-y. The m-o-m decline was largely attributed to weaker demand for 300-series brass rod and bar, as shipments declined by 9.9%, reaching 5.2Mlbs. Servicenters enjoyed a good Q1 as shipment levels rose to reach 72.7Mlbs (32,736t), up by 4.2% y-o-y, with the peak of the quarter occurring in March, just as it did in 2011. Over 50% of servicecenters surveyed believed that incoming orders will stay at the same level in June-August 2012 as they were in March-May 2012.

Undisclosed Chinese copper fabricators reported that they plan to increase copper purchases after the summer. A representative from a copper commercial tube fabricator based in Henan province reported that the company is planning to buy more than 10,000 tonnes of copper cathode in September compared to a few thousand in July and August. In addition to term supplies booked late in 2009 for deliveries in 2010, the company will need to buy in the spot market more than 10,000 tonnes of refined copper per month in Q4 2010 because of additional customer orders. The tube maker has seen its best year yet, supported by strong demand from air-conditioner manufacturers. As a result, its copper commercial tube output is expected to rise by 15% y-o-y in 2010. A source from a copper rod producer located in Guangdong province said that some overseas clients were placing additional orders for September and October. The company uses 14,000-15,000 tonnes of refined copper per month and is likely to increase spot imports to meet extra demand. Another fabricator, which uses 70,000 tonnes of refined copper per annum to produce copper rod, plate and strip, mentioned that the Anhui-based company has a full order book for the rest of the year. Thin copper strip, consumed by the electronics industry, registered the strongest growth. Backed by strong demand, the company managed to raise its product prices to cover increased copper costs. In addition, Chinese power cable output has stayed firm and mostly unaffected by Beijing's policy controls on the property sector. Power cable production rose by 23.2% y-o-y to 14.1 million kilometres in the first seven months of the year. It was also reported that copper semis production increased by 14.5% y-o-y to 6.1 million tonnes in the same period.

An SCR-type casting and rolling facility for the production of copper wire rod is to be introduced at Nippon Mining & Metals' Chinese JV. Due to start in August and complete in 2010, the facility will expand output capacity by 50% to 300,000 tonnes per year with ¥3 billion capital expenditure. The JV, Chang Zhou Jin Yuan, will cease its current Contirod-type facility when the SCR-facility comes on line. Nippon decided to undertake the capacity expansion to meet strong demand from infrastructure construction in China.

Jiangxi Copper announced that it will, "cut the production of semi-finished products by 20-30% in August," following a request from the local authorities that it reduce its power consumption. The company has the capacity to produce 700,000tpy of refined copper and 370,000tpy of semis. The company said that it would "try to maintain normal production of refined copper," and that it would, "cut imports of refined copper as production of semi-finished products fell."

On 6th August, Xstrata reported H1 profits were down 6.7% versus the same period in 2007. Revenues were 13% higher at $16.092 billion, after record first-half production in coking and semi-soft coal, ferrochrome, refined nickel, platinum, zinc concentrate and lead concentrate. The company expects second-half production to be even stronger, reflected in their decision to raise the interim dividend by 13% to 18c. per share. Xstrata remains bullish over demand prospects in China, with ongoing infrastructure development and urbanisation underpinning growth, adding "the Group is well positioned to enjoy margin expansion and improved profitability from the second half of 2008 and into 2009".

China imported 87,168 metric tons of the metal last month, the Beijing-based customs office said, citing revised final data. Imports were 88,075 tons in July,