Japanese copper smelter output seen rising despite weak domestic demand

Nittetsu Mining Co

02/10/2020 09:46

By Yuka Obayashi
    TOKYO, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Japan's copper output in the second
half of the 2020/21 financial year will rise 2.1% year on year,
Reuters calculations from plans outlined by smelters showed, as
solid exports to top buyer China will help outweigh the
pandemic-hit local demand.
    Japan's biggest copper supplier Pan Pacific Copper (PPC),
No.2 smelter Sumitomo Metal Mining  5713.T  and Furukawa Co Ltd
 5715.T  have plans for higher output from October to March.
    PPC, jointly owned by JX Nippon Mining & Metals and Mitsui
Mining and Smelting Co Ltd  5706.T , said slow domestic demand
is expected to be cushioned by solid appetite from China, which
accounts for about half of the global copper demand.
    "We expect healthy export demand as China's economy has been
recovering steadily," a PPC spokesman said.
    "Japanese domestic demand, on the other hand, is likely to
remain weak in the second-half."
    Japan's economy, the world's third-largest, sank deeper into
its worst post-war contraction in the second quarter as the
novel coronavirus jolted businesses, with an annualised gross
domestic product (GDP) sliding 28.1% in April-June.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2G40JQ
    Japan's production of wrought copper products is predicted
to sink 15.6% in the current financial year, hitting the lowest
since 1975, due to the COVID-19 crisis, while the country's
copper electric wire shipment is forecast to fall 10.8%.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2GP10J
    Copper imports by China rose 38% in the first eight months
this year from a year earlier, backed by strong demand from key
consumption sectors as well as an arbitrage between London and
Shanghai copper.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2G4114  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2G05NK    
    Below are the production plans of base metals for October to
March from PPC, Sumitomo Metal, Mitsubishi Materials  5711.T ,
Furukawa, Dowa Holdings  5714.T , Mitsui Mining, Nittetsu Mining
Co Ltd  1515.T  and Toho Zinc Co Ltd  5707.T .
    The table shows comparisons against planned or estimated
production in the first half and actual production in the second
half of the 2019/20 financial year that ended March 31.
    Sumitomo Metal's figures are based on the company's revised
forecasts in August at its first-quarter earnings announcement.
              H2          H1         H2               
              FY2020/21   FY2020/21  FY2019/20  y/y
 Copper                                               
 PPC             305,200    293,600    295,700     3.2
 SMM             224,900    219,100    202,953    10.8
 Mitsubishi      160,086    185,394    174,798    -8.4
 Furukawa         37,788     37,604     37,758     0.1
 Dowa             32,443     34,258     32,737    -0.9
 Nittetsu         24,775     24,776     24,775     0.0
 TOTAL           785,192    794,732    768,721     2.1
 Zinc                                                 
 Mitsui          118,600     99,400    107,800    10.0
 Dowa             93,490     84,358     90,800     3.0
 Toho Zinc        50,900     41,228     49,348     3.1
 TOTAL           262,990    224,986    247,948     6.1
 Lead                                                 
 Toho Zinc        43,500     49,037     40,491     7.4
 Mitsui           35,900     33,800     34,100     5.3
 Mitsubishi       12,030     13,938     14,388   -16.4
 Dowa              6,238      5,777      5,931     5.2
 TOTAL            97,668    102,552     94,910     2.9
 Nickel                                               
 SMM              29,900     29,600     29,800     0.3
 Ferronickel                                          
 SMM               7,200      6,100      7,060     2.0
 
 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4563-2761;))