What Was Copper, Aluminium, And Zinc Production In China During March 2023?

Recently, China’s copper cathode, aluminium, and zinc production figures for March 2023 have been released. In this article, let’s delve into the same and explore the market outlook for April 2023.

Production Highlights

• Copper Cathode Production– China’s copper cathode output totalled 951,400 metric tons (mt) in March 2023, up by 4.8% from February 2023 and 12.1% from March 2022. Copper cathode output from January 2023 to March 2023 totalled 2.71 million mt, an 8.4% YoY increase.
  Six copper smelters are planned to undergo maintenance in April 2023, which is estimated to result in a 28,600 mt output reduction. However, the output in April 2023 is anticipated to improve by 0.26% MoM to 953,900 mt due to more working days and an increase in copper cathode production in China (from smelters in Jiangxi and central China).      
• Aluminium Production– When it comes to aluminium production in China, it was 3.41 million mt in March, up by 2.9% YoY. The daily aluminium output declined to 110,000 mt in March 2023 due to production reductions in Yunnan. Market experts predict that China’s aluminium capacity will increase to 40.6 million mt by the end of April 2023, and the output will reach 3.32 million mt in April 2023.
• Zinc Production– Refined zinc production in China climbed in March 2023 by 11.03% MoM to 556,800 mt and by 12.26% YoY, while the alloys production in China increased by 16,900 mt month over month to 82,610 mt. The majority of output loss was caused by production reductions in Yunnan brought on by power rationing. Due to the higher operating rates in the majority of smelters, domestic zinc production is anticipated to increase even more in April 2023.

OFB’s Insight

The increase in output of copper cathode, aluminium, and zinc in China can be attributed to many factors, including the sufficient domestic supply of raw materials and an increase in production in a smelter in central China. Despite maintenance schedules, output has increased due to smelters restocking sufficient raw materials, and production resumption in a smelter in Jiangxi.

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