China has produced significantly more metals
by David Fleschen
The continued good mood yesterday gave further support to metal prices, so that copper, for example, was trading at USD 6,200 per ton for a long time. However, positive US economic data on the real estate market and industrial production have fizzled out in the afternoon. The copper price has dropped somewhat this morning as the National Bureau of Statistics reported a sharp increase in Chinese copper production in November. This rose by 20% compared to the previous year to a record high of 909 thousand tons. Although the Chinese smelters are struggling with low margins due to the still low melting and processing fees, they have expanded their production significantly in order to still achieve the annual targets set. According to industry circles, copper demand in China is currently subdued due to, among other things, the trade dispute with the United States. In addition to copper, zinc production has also increased significantly, to a two-year high of 594 thousand tons. In contrast to copper, the very high smelting fees have given zinc an incentive to expand production. China also produced significantly more stainless steel. According to data from the International Stainless Steel Forum, it was 8.14 million tons in the third quarter, 13% more than in the previous year. China was solely responsible for the fact that a record amount of stainless steel was deployed at a global level of 13.69 million tons. This probably noticeably supported nickel demand in the third quarter and contributed to the fact that the nickel price rose to a 5-year high in early September.
Source: Commerzbank Research, Photo: Fotolia