Japan Copper Scrap Import Much Increases in August

Japanese copper and copper alloy scrap import increased by 30-50% in August from a year earlier, announced Ministry of Finance on Thursday. Copper scrap demand was active in Japan when copper fabricators continued full production under favorable demand condition, while domestic scrap generation was relatively little. Maker source said scrap dealers around Osaka area seemed to procure scrap from overseas actively.Copper scrap import increased by 34.6% to 5,596 tonnes in August from a year ago, which exceeded 5,000 tonnes for 3 straight months when copper fabricators seemed to keep active purchasing stances. Import increased by 45.9% to 2,948 tonnes for brass and bronze scrap and by 50% to 3,482 tonnes for copper alloy scrap.Aluminium scrap import increased by 37.4% to 698 tonnes in August from a year ago. Import of aluminium alloy scrap decreased by 16.6% to 8,658 tonnes, though Japanese secondary aluminium alloy ingot makers continued full operation with strong demand for automobiles.Import decreased by 13.9% to 3,433 tonnes for cathode copper and the fragments. Import of electrolytic lead ingot was 2,571 tonnes in August, which increased by 4 times from a year earlier. Electrolytic zinc ingot with above 99.99% purity increased by 1.3% to 1,651 tonnes.