Japan Official Copper and Zinc Prices Sharply Decline

Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Friday the firm decreased the official copper ingot price by 30,000 yen to 950,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in May. The official price was revised down again after the previous down revision on May 15 to reflect the decline of offshore copper markets. The monthly average became to 983,100 yen.Japanese official copper ingot price hit record 1.05 million yen on May 7 and turned to the sharp decrease due to the plunge of overseas copper markets. The official price downed by 100,000 yen per tonne in 10 business days and returned to the level as low as 920,000 yen in early April.Japanese smelters’ breakeven point with imported copper ore is estimated to be over 938,000 yen per tonne including 43,000 yen of premium and other charge based on New York kerb on Thursday, which represented US$ 7,307 per tonne at LME spot price. The estimated price is lower than the latest official price by about 10,000 yen.Mitsui Mining & Smelting announced on Friday the firm revised down the official zinc ingot price by 32,000 yen to 489,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in May. The official price continued decreasing to reflect weak offshore market and the monthly average became to 508,900 yen.