Japan Rolled Copper Output Doubles in February

Japanese rolled copper output increased by 95.9% to 68,850 tonnes in February from a year earlier, which increased for 4 months in a row, according to Japan Copper and Brass Association. The year to year output increase was the largest in the history topping 62.8% increase in February 1960.

The copper strip output increased to 3.5 times at 21,460 tonnes in February from a year earlier. The output for export increased to 3.8 times at 5,860 tonnes while the production for home increased to 2.2 times at 15,600 tonnes. The output was firm for automobile, semiconductor and home appliance in China.

The copper tube output increased by 15.5% to 9,443 tonnes in February from a year earlier, which showed first increase since November 2008. The demand seems to stop decreasing while the demand is still slow for air conditioner and water supply applications.

Refer to an attached table.