Japan Copper Import Widely Decreases in September

Japanese cathode copper import decreased by 22% to 4,482 tonnes in September from a year earlier at a quick estimation by Ministry of Finance. The import hit the secondly lowest in 2008 following 3,559 tonnes in March. Anode copper import was 984 tonnes in September, which decreased by 72% year-on-year and maintained less than 1,000 tonnes for 2 months in a row. There was no anode copper import from Chile and the Philippines, which is used as auxiliary material for copper ore by smelters.

Electrolytic lead import increased in September when domestic battery makers are increasing consumption of imported lead ingot. Import of electrolytic zinc (more than 99.99% purity) exceeded 5,000 tonnes in August and September despite of stagnant demand for galvanizing steel sheets. Zinc import kept high level when the unit price halved from a year ago.

Japanese cathode copper export decreased by 4.4% to 39,023 tonnes in September from a year earlier, which represented year-on-year down for 4 straight months, according to Ministry of Finance. The export for China, the largest importer of Japanese cathode copper, decreased by 2% to 18,720 tonnes. Copper scrap export decreased by 9.1% to 33,616 tonnes, which downed by 7.9% to 30,470 tonnes for China.

Aluminium scrap export decreased by 32.4% to 6,183 tonnes, which showed year-on-year down for 4 months in a row. The export for China decreased by 37.3% to 4,478 tonnes.