China’s Copper Cathode Production Drops in August, Imports Hit 16-Month Low
China's copper cathode production in August 2024 saw a slight decrease of 1.4% year-on-year, according to the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). However, output for the month still rose by 2.5% year-on-year to 1.013 million tons. Over the first eight months of the year, production increased by 6.5%, reaching 7.960 million tons, despite ongoing challenges in sourcing raw materials.
China's copper concentrate imports in August rose by 18.9% from July to 2.574 million tons but remained 4.6% lower than the same period in 2023. For the first eight months of 2024, total imports of copper concentrate increased by 3.2% to 18.061 million tons, reflecting the country's continued need to address raw material shortages.
Production in September could face additional disruptions due to an accident at Daye Non-Ferrous Metals Mining’s facility in Hubei province. A fire at the company's sulfuric acid plant is expected to cause a three-month halt in operations, although the plant may still produce copper anode cathodes or blister copper during the downtime. Daye forecasts its copper cathode output for 2024 to drop to 680,000 tons, 190,000 tons less than its initial projection in March.
In August, Chinese copper imports fell to a 16-month low of 415,000 tons, a decrease of 5.3% from July and 12.3% from August 2023. Nevertheless, over the eight-month period, total copper imports rose by 3.0% year-on-year to 3.62 million tons.
Foreign analysts attribute the decline in China's copper imports to a slowdown in the construction sector and lower growth in the broader national industry.
