Japan Anode Copper Import Keeps High in July

Japanese import of crude copper and anode copper expanded to 4.5 times at 4,976 tonnes in July from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance. The import of other refined copper for electrolytic refining was 329 tonnes in July, which had been much smaller before. Japanese smelters seem increasing copper material procurement other than ores.

The import of aluminium alloy ingot increased by 26.2% year-on-year in July despite of slow demand from automobiles. Japanese alloy users seemed to purchase cheaper ingot actively from China and South Korea. Japanese battery makers also increased material procurement from overseas and Japanese lead ingot import exceeded 2,000 tonnes for 4 months in a row.

As to zinc ingot with above 99.99% purity, there was 3,520-tonne import from Australia and the total figure expanded to 2.3 times year-on-year in July. The total import hit the yearly highest.

Japanese export of cathode copper was 24,313 tonnes in July, which decreased by 20.4% from a year earlier and represented year-on-year down for 2 months in a row, according to Ministry of Finance. The export bound for China decreased by 10.1% to 13,300 tonnes. Aluminium scrap export decreased by 10.1% to 8,684 tonnes, which for China declined by 4% to 6,973 tonnes.

See attached tables.