(Minews) - The global refined copper market swung to a 34,000-tonne surplus in December from a deficit a month earlier amid weak usage in major copper consuming regions, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG).
Demand in China appeared strong in December, but ICSG noted “substantial fluctuations” in copper inventories held in bonded warehouses in China. After adjusting for these fluctuations, the production surplus stood at 74,000 tonnes.
For 2013, the market recorded a 193,000-tonne deficit, down from a 266,000-tonne deficit the prior year. After adjusting for bonded warehouse stocks, the deficit for 2013 stood at 452,000 tonnes in contrast to a surplus of 302,000 tonnes in 2012.
World refined copper usage increased an estimated 3.9 percent year-on-year to 21.2 million tonnes. Chinese apparent demand increased 7 percent from 2012 as a 216,000-tonne decline in net imports, mainly in the first half of the year, was more than offset by a 675,000-tonne increase in production.
Actual demand in China in 2013 might have exceeded apparent demand, the ICSG said, as the lower net import level was accompanied by a decline in unreported inventories held in bonded warehouses. The withdrawn stocks might have been fully or partially directed to domestic industrial use, it added.
Excluding China, world refined copper usage rose 1.4 percent, or 160,000 tonnes, as growth in the United States, Brazil and Russia offset reductions in South Korea and the European Union.
World mine production increased an estimated 8 percent last year as three major copper mines recovered from production constraints during 2012. The three mines accounted for 28 percent of the world increase in 2013, led by Chile and Peru, which each logged growth of 6 percent.
