Japan Official Copper Price in Rough Fluctuation

Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Thursday the firm revised down the official copper ingot price by 20,000 yen to 920,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in May. The official price has been revised as frequently as 4 times during 9 business days in May to reflect the rough fluctuation of overseas copper markets and the yen exchange rate. The monthly average would be 923,800 yen without any more revision within May, down by 7,800 yen due to the latest revision.Copper spot price at London Metal Exchange was US$ 8,351 per tonne at the purchasing price in afternoon trading on 21 May, sharply declining by 2.7% from 16 May along which Nippon Mining & Metals previously revised the official copper price. LME copper price weakened due to the increase of LME inventory with concerns about slower Chinese demand and global economy. Copper spot price also declined at New York Commodity Exchange to around US 375 cents per pound, which represented day-to-day down for 3 trading days in a row. The telegraphic transfer selling rate was 103.86 yen per US dollar on 22 May. Yen became stronger by 1.27 yen compared with the previous revision of the domestic official copper price. Japanese smelters’ breakeven point is estimated to be 911,000 yen per tonne including 43,000 yen of premium and charges based on New York kerb on 21May, which represented US$ 8,366 per tonne for LME cash price.