Japan Firm Demand for Nonferrous Metal Processed Products in May

Japanese production and shipment volume of nonferrous metal ingot was relatively low in May from a year earlier, announced Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry on Monday. The shipment decreased for electrolytic silver, lead and zinc ingot in May from a year ago and the output also declined for some metals. On the other hand, the production and shipment increased for the most of metal processed products. The production and shipment were favorable for copper and copper alloy fabricated products, which were relatively slow in April.The production and shipment of electrolytic copper ingot increased in May from a year ago thanks to the increase of export for China and the demand recovery for processed products such as copper fabricated products. The production and shipment increased for copper and copper alloy fabricated products with the demand recovery mainly for semiconductors and machineries.