According to the latest data released by the International Copper Research Group, global refined copper production is expected to increase by 3% in the first quarter of 2018. The company said that copper production in the second quarter increased by 6% compared with 2.3% in the same period last year.
In the first quarter of this year, refined copper production averaged about 330,000 tons per month. Mainly because Chile's production in the world's largest copper producer increased by nearly 20%, while copper production in Indonesia's copper mines increased significantly by 58%. It is estimated that mine production in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania has increased by approximately 11%, 7%, 6%, 4% and 5%.
Market analysts said that although there were no major supply disruptions in the first quarter of this year, the decline in production in some mines in Canada and the United States (-10% and -7.5%, respectively) offset the overall growth to some extent.
China's refined copper consumption increased by about 5%, which is the biggest contributor to output growth. Consumption growth has increased net refined copper imports by 10%. Usage in other parts of the world has dropped by about 1%. Global refinement in the first quarter of 2018 The copper balance shows that the excess copper is about 150,000 tons.