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Main facts about the copper market as costs struck record highs

Copper rose to tape-record highs on Monday as a recent rally triggered by brief covering produced momentum for speculators and funds to bank on higher costs of the metal.

Below are the main truths about the copper market, sourced from the International Copper Study Group (ICSG), the International Copper Association (ICA), and data.

INDUSTRIAL USES

Copper is utilized in the power and building and construction markets and is commonly anticipated to benefit in future from the green energy transition via extra demand from the electric car sector and new applications including data centers for expert system (AI).

Equipment manufacturing is presently the largest end-use sector for copper, followed by building and construction and infrastructure.

International obvious usage of refined copper rose from 10 million metric lots in the late 1980s to 26.5 million lots in 2023 as Asia ended up being the largest customer with a 70% share of usage. Since 2022, China was the largest customer of refined copper with use of 14.7 million tons.

PRODUCTION CHAIN BY TYPE AND BY AREA

Deposits of copper, among the first metals used by human beings, are extensive around the world. Scrap represent significant amounts of worldwide supply every year.

Copper's primary production chain begins with the mining of copper-bearing ores, then relocates to production of copper focuses normally including around 30% copper.

The smelting process changes concentrate into a matte consisting of 50-70% copper. The matte is processed into a blister copper of 98.5-99.5% copper content. In the next step, refined cathodes are produced with 99.99% copper content.

Copper mine production totalled 22.4 million lots in 2023, with Chile, Peru and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) being the biggest manufacturers. Production of refined copper, consisting of secondary or scrap, amounted to 26.5 million lots in 2023, with China being the largest manufacturer.

MAJOR EXPORTERS AND IMPORTERS

International copper trade includes all major items in the processing chain - concentrates, blister and anode, cathode and ingots, scrap and semi-fabricated items.

Chile, Peru and Indonesia are significant exporters of copper ores and focuses, while China, Japan and South Korea are major importers of these products.

In the market for copper blister and anode, Zambia, Chile and DRC are major exporters, with China and India being major importers.

For the fine-tuned copper trade, Chile, DRC and Russia are major exporters, while China, the U.S. and Italy are significant importers.

SUPPLY-DEMAND BALANCE

The worldwide 26.5 million-ton refined copper market was balanced in 2023, but faces a surplus of 162,000 metric lots this year and 94,000 lots in 2025, according to the ICSG, as refined production is anticipated to increase by 2.8% in 2024 and 2.2%. in 2025.

Nevertheless, the supply of copper from mines has been lower than. anticipated so far this year due to the slower ramp-up of a number. of tasks, delays in brand-new projects and the December closure of. First Quantum's significant Cobre Panama mine.

This has tightened up the supply of copper concentrate to. smelters in China and is visible in collapsing refining and. treatment charges (TCs) in the nation.

Despite tight supply of copper concentrate, present need. for copper in China is fairly weak as inventories in. storage facilities kept track of by the Shanghai Futures Exchange. << CU-STX-SGH > are near four-year highs and the premium to import. copper into China's Yangshan location << SMM-CUYP-CN > is at absolutely no.

(source: Reuters)