Japan Official Copper and Lead Prices Increase

Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Wednesday the firm raised official copper ingot price by 20,000 yen to 730,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in January. The price increased for the first time since December 15, 2006. The monthly average became to 734,200 yen.Japanese smelters’ breakeven point with imported copper ore is estimated to be over 738,000 yen per tonne including 43,000 yen of premium and other charge based on New York kerb on Tuesday, which represented US$ 5,700-5,710 per tonne at LME future price. The estimated price exceeds the latest official price by about 10,000 yen.Mitsubishi Materials announced on Wednesday the firm revised up official lead ingot price by 17,000 yen to 249,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in January. The official price became to the highest level in 3 weeks thanks to the increase of overseas lead market and weaker yen exchange rate against US dollar. The monthly average upped to 242,300 yen.