Japan Cu Smelters to Keep Volume for Japan Major Buyers

Japanese copper smelters are concluding price and volume negotiation with domestic contract users for 2011 shipment. The smelters already settled the talks with around 80% of the users including electric wire and rolled copper makers. The smelters won around 30% higher premium. The smelters will ship same level of volume totally as 2010 while the volume increases for some users and decreases for others. Some smelters reduce the export to secure domestic shipment.

Japanese largest copper smelter of Pan Pacific Copper reduces the export to secure volume for domestic contract users when the firm has reduced the output since October.

Asian copper buyers sought higher volume to Japanese smelters during negotiation by end of 2010 when the demand increases in China, South Korea and Taiwan. However, Japanese smelters apparently reduced the export volume in 2011 from 2010 to secure domestic shipment. Pan Pacific Copper reduced the export mainly for Chinese buyers.

The smelters settled the premium on international copper price at US$ 98 per tonne for 2011 as the price leader of Corporaci?n Nacional del Cobre de Chile (CODELCO)’s premium. The premium is higher than US$ 75 in 2010 when world copper supply is expected to be 500,000 tonnes short of the demand in 2010.