Japan Firm Shipment of Non-ferrous Metal Ingot in April

Japanese non-ferrous metal ingot shipment increased for all major base and precious metals in April from a year earlier, while the output decreased for some metals, announced by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Tuesday.The production of electrolytic gold increased by 9.7% to 12,241 kilogram in April from a year ago, the shipment increased by 37.1% to 11,426 kg and the inventory decreased by 44.6% to 3,603 kg. The demand seemed to increase sharply for gold plating of automobile parts. The electrolytic copper production increased by 10.3% to 126,777 tonnes, the shipment increased by 16.4% to 89,114 tonnes and the inventory decreased by 7.9% to 40,887 tonnes in April from a year earlier. The export of electrolytic copper ingot increased for China and the demand of copper fabricated products continued to recover firmly such as copper alloy products. The production of electrolytic lead decreased by 8.1% to 17,937 tonnes in April from a year ago, the shipment increased by 13.8% to 16,259 tonnes and the inventory decreased by 40% to 5,849 tonnes. The production decreased due to outflow of used batteries to overseas, the major material for electrolytic lead ingot, while the shipment increased thanks to increasing demand for automobiles.