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According to the International Copper Study Group, the world refined copper market is expected to exhibit a surplus of 200,000t in 2010, up from a surplus of 166,000t in 2009. The ICSG believes that increased supply is forecast to match the growth in demand. After the 36th regular meeting of its statistical committee in Antofagasta, Chile, the ICSG reported that refined production is estimated to reach 19.1Mt in 2010 whilst consumption is projected to total 18.9Mt. As for 2011, it is anticipated that the refined copper market will see a deficit of 435,000t, with production at 19.3Mt and consumption at 19.7Mt. It was commented that improved economic activity will boost end-use demand faster than the growth in production. In addition, refined production will grow only slightly due to a shortage of concentrates.

US speciality brass mill Ansonia Copper and Brass Inc. has announced that it will lay off 85 of the 102 employees at its Liberty Street, Ansonia, factory in Connecticut. The plant manufactures copper alloy rod and wires. Company President Raymond McGee said "it's a very, very difficult situation". He blamed the redundancies, on top of 76 employees laid off in April 2007, on the company's struggle with escalating costs. Since 2002 electricity costs have soared 239%, natural gas 200%, fuel oil 125%, and copper and nickel 500% apiece. Ansonia's other facility in Waterbury, CT, which manufacturers copper alloy tube is unaffected by the announcement.

Further evidence of the impact of the North American economic slowdown on copper demand has recently been published by the ABMS and government statistical bodies. North American copper wirerod production plummeted 9.6% year-on-year to 174,000 tonnes in April. Output had been on a downward trend but the magnitude of the deterioration in April has still come as something of a surprise. A year-on-year increase of 2.0% in North American output January had been followed a 1.0% fall in February and a 2.7% drop in March. In April Canadian output was flat year-on-year due to improving export sales to the US, while US production fell 9.8% year-on-year and Mexican shipments slumped by 17.5%. On a year-to-date basis North American wirerod production was 2.9% lower in the four months to April 2008. Weakening demand from the automotive industry, coupled with a resurgance in copper prices and the return of Russian wirerod imports has clearly led to a deteriorating market situation for domestic mills.

Mueller Industries second quarter results highlight the tough times that the US brass mill industry is facing, but that companies can still operate profitably in a challenging market environment. The company's plumbing and refrigeration segment saw sales fall 11% to US$404m, while its operating profits dropped 32% to US$35m. The company blamed lower shipment volumes and lower spreads for the weaker performance. Sales at the company's OEM division, which includes its brass rod activities, rose 10% year-on-year to US$354m, while its operating profits rose 5% to US$19m. The improvement here is due to acquisition of Extruded Metals. Commenting on the results Harvey Karp, Chairman of Mueller Industries said "Mueller's earnings for the first half of 2008 were achieved despite the continuing decline in the housing industry, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, the turbulence in the financial markets, rising metal costs, sky-high energy prices and a slowing national economy. Considering these adverse circumstances, we are pleased with the results."

"China's refined copper production rose 13.8% in 2014 to 7.96 million tonnes as a result of rising smelting capacity and favourable treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs)."

Japan's Ministry of Finance reported that refined copper exports amounted to 23,760t in May, down by 52% y-o-y. This marks the eighth consecutive monthly y-o-y fall in exports, mainly attributed to consumer destocking in China. Conversely, when compared to the previous month, refined copper exports rose by 0.8%. China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand are the major destinations for Japanese refined copper exports.

"Iran's demand for refined copper is small, amounting to just 155kt in 2014. Any easing of trade sanctions is likely to result in a healthy boost to domestic copper demand as the country catches up after its years of isolation. There is also the possible added bonus of increased exports to its neighbours which have wirerod capacity constraints. However, the overall effect on global refined copper demand growth will be limited. "

Li Yihuang said Jiangxi Copper, which produced nearly 20 percent of China's refined copper output last year, would be able to meet its 2009 output target of 800,000 tonnes of refined copper despite the repair, which started in late December.

HAMBURG, May 18 (Reuters) - Spot copper treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) are believed to have fallen to about $50 a tonne and 5 cents a pound, Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis (NAFG.DE) said on Monday. This was down from a TC/RC level of $75 a tonne and 7.5 cents a lb reported in March. TC/RCs, the fees charged by smelters to refine copper concentrate into metal, are a key part of the global copper industry's revenues.

According to Antaike, Chinese refined copper production in November amounted to 405,257t. For the 11 months to November the figure was 3,778,095t, an increase of 8% y-o-y. Chinese copper semis production in November reached 221,091t; for the year to November copper semis output totalled 2,432,149t, up by 17% compared with the same period in 2008. In addition, the customs office reported that refined copper imports in November increased by 15% m-o-m to 194,388t.

"China's Xiangguang Copper completed an expansion in April that has lifted annual refining capacity up 70 percent to 600,000 tonnes, a company manager said on Friday."

According to data from Chinese Customs, Chinese final imports of refined copper totalled 238,828t in December, a fall of 4 7% m-o-m from November, and the second lowest reading of 2012. Despite this, full-year imports of refined copper in 2012 surged to their highest year on record, at 3.4Mt, as a result of the large volumes of copper being imported on long term contracts in 2012. While the pickup in imports of refined copper was strong in 2012, demand from downstream users did not match the pickup in imports. According to a report from Reuters, this has resulted in large amounts of cathode sitting in bonded warehouses rather than being absorbed by the domestic market.

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.

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."

Difficulties securing raw materials led to a 0.5% y-o-y drop in output of refined copper, to 320,000t, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC). A downturn in demand coupled with increasing raw materials prices has produced very difficult operating conditions, with one Henan-based trader commenting that, "unless the Shanghai copper price recovers, the fall in Chinese copper output is likely to extend until September." Over the first eight months of 2008, refined copper output increased to 2.47m tonnes, or by 15% on last year. However, some are beginning to question China's ability to sustain the rapid rate of growth it has shown recently, leading to a drop-off in demand.

According to data released by the Ministry of Finance in Japan, exports of refined copper in October increased by 4.2% y-o-y to 39,197t. It was reported that more than a third was dispatched to China. The figure was also up by 4.2% compared with September, supported by recovered demand from the automotive and semiconductor sectors. Shipments to Taiwan amounted for 31.5% of the total, up from 25% in September. South Korea corresponded to 5% of total exports compared to 6% in September.

According to Antaike, a metals research group, China's growth in refined copper consumption is set to slow in the coming year. The group forecasts consumption growth of 6.4% in 2012, compared to expected growth of 8.5% this year and 11.5% growth in 2010. This slowdown in consumption is likely to put downward pressure on copper prices, which have recently fallen to the lowest levels this year on eurozone and US debt concerns. Tight credit as well as struggling automotive sales, fewer new-home start-ups and declining railroad investment were quoted as key contributors to slowing refined copper demand.

Brazilian refined copper wire exports fell sharply year-on-year in March as Argentina and Costa Rica continued to reduce shipments. Exports for the month totalled 1,848 tonnes, down 41.6% from the same period last year, according to figures from the country's trade ministry. The figure was up from the 1,446 tonnes exported in February. However, combined exports for the first quarter of 2013 stood at 6,220 tonnes, down 47.1% year-on-year. Export revenues stood at $15.09 million, compared with $27.62 million in March 2012. Wire thinner than 6mm accounted for 1,135 tonnes of the exports, whereas other kinds of refined copper wire accounted for 712 tonnes. As in the previous month, Argentina was the main Brazilian copper wire buyer with 1,311 tonnes, although this total was less than the 1,835 tonnes it imported in March 2012. Costa Rica, the second main buyer, registered 203 tonnes, compared with 402 tonnes in the same month last year.

Imports of refined copper to China increased by 12% m-o-m in February to 375,831t, marking the third highest level of imports to the region on record. The increase is attributed to delays in shipments following China's January holiday period, as well as buyers restocking in expectation of robust demand in seasonably strong Q2 2012.