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Copper prices both in China and in global markets have strengthened on news that India’s Supreme Court has rejected an application by Vedanta to reopen its Sterlite Copper 400,000 tonnes/year smelter and refinery in Thoothukudi district in South India’s Tamil Nadu state. However, Chinese copper market insiders don’t see the uptrend in Chinese copper prices being sustained.
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The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the world’s bellwether of the dry bulk freight market, has been heading downward ever since mid-December last year, hitting a 31-month low of 595 on February 11, or down 800 base points in total amid the persistent cooling in the dry bulk markets amid the Sino-US trade friction and Vale’s tailings dam collapse on January 25, market sources said on February 14.
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China’s total imports of copper concentrates and ores in January surged 17.8% on year to some 1.9 million tonnes, according to official data released by China’s General Administration of Customs on February 14. Last month’s total imports were also 29.5% up on the December 2018 level, Mysteel calculated.
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For January, China’s imports of coal and lignite surged 19.5% on year to 33.5 million tonnes, and the exports of coke
and semi-coke grew 4.4% on year to 716,000 tonnes. A detailed
report will be posted.
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China's January iron ore imports decreased 9.1% on year to 91.3 million tonnes. A detailed report will be posted.
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China’s January copper concentrates and ores imports grew 17.8% on year to 1.9 million tonnes.A detailed report will be posted.
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China’s nonferrous sector faces serious challenges this year including weak fundamentals, an unbalanced industry structure and a complicated global trade environment, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology warned in a report published Tuesday.
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Zinc futures on Shanghai Futures Exchange have been tracking south since business resumed following the Chinese New Year holiday, mainly because stocks had swollen over the holiday, market sources said Wednesday. A further complication is that while the domestic zinc market is witnessing stable supply, demand is weak, they said.
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China’s aluminum market has yet witnessed any obvious signs of resurgence, though some downstream users have resumed replenishing aluminum ingot since Monday, and price has stayed largely unchanged after the Chinese New Year break.
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The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing industry reversed up by 0.1 basis point on month to 49.5 for January after having declined for the previous four months, but it still suggested contraction in the sector because of its being below the threshold of 50, according to the latest release by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 31.
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The US Department of the Treasury’s lifting of sanctions on January 27 imposed last year on En+ Group plc, UC Rusal plc and JSC EuroSibEnergo has had little impact on China’s aluminum market, Chinese industry sources said on Tuesday.
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MMG Limited, the Australian nonferrous metals subsidiary of China Minmetals Corporation, expects to perform strongly in 2019 with copper production projected to reach 385,000-405,000 tonnes (metal contained). However, the Melbourne-based firm’s copper output witnessed a sharp decline last year, according to the company’s Q4 production report released on January 24.
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Anglo American’s copper production jumped 23% on year to 183,500 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2018, hitting a five-year high since Q4 2013, the global miner said in its latest quarterly report released on January 24. All tonnage is metal contained basis, Mysteel notes.
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China’s energy consumption structure has been in the progress of optimization with the ratio from thermal coal down further by 1.4 percentage points on year for 2018 though the total consumption grew 3.3% on year, according to the latest release from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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China’s copper scrap imports last year experienced a severe decline, with the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs on January 23 showing that copper scrap imports tumbled by a huge 32.2% on year to 2.41 million tonnes. The central government’s ban on some metal scrap imports was responsible, market sources said.
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China’s copper cathode production in 2018 reached some 9 million tonnes, representing an increase of 8% on year, according to the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Market sources attributed the increase to newly commissioned copper capacity in the country and moderately stronger demand.
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BHP has raised its guideline for copper production for its 2019 fiscal year (ending June 30) to 1.64-1.74 million tonnes from the previous guidance of 1.62-1.7 million tonnes, according to the company’s latest quarterly report released on January 22. The Australian miner has upped its guidance – even though actual copper production over July-December declined – mainly because financial issues led BHP to cancel its agreement to sell the Cerro Colorado mine in Chile.
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Operational
performance
(i) Other copper comprises Pampa Norte
(including Cerro Colorado production for the full 2019 financial year to
reflect its retention, previous guidance only included 35,000 tonnes of
production for the first half of the 2019 financial year), Olympic Dam and
Antamina.
(ii) Increase in BHP’s share of
volumes reflects the expiry of the Wheelarra Joint Venture
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The London Metal Exchange (LME) will launch seven new derivatives products on March 11 including two hot-rolled coil contracts and five non-ferrous contacts, all being just as an LME official disclosed late last November.
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China’s production of primary aluminum in 2018 rose by 7.4% on year to 35.8 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 21. For December only, the country’s aluminum output reached 3.05 million tonnes, representing an increase of 11.3% on year.
