Japan Rolled Copper Shipment Drops by 4.1% in January

Japanese rolled copper shipment decreased by 4.1% to 80,523 tonnes in January from a year earlier, which represents decreases for 12 months in a row, according to Japan Copper and Brass Association. The demand was slower due to slowdown of Japanese economy, lower copper ingot price and lower export under higher yen rate. The domestic shipment decreased by 3.8% to 65,770 tonnes in January from a year earlier. The shipment decreased due to slower building activity while the buyers minimized the order due to decreasing copper ingot price. The shipment decreased by 2% to 11,600 tonnes for connector applications in January from a year earlier. The shipment decreased by 9.5% to 6,263 tonnes for refrigerator and by 12.2% to 3,888 tonnes for gas equipments. The shipment increased by 1.1% to 4,238 tonnes for semiconductor application, which increased for the first time in 5 months. The export decreased by 5.4% to 14,753 tonnes, which decreases for 8 months in a row.