Reuters reported that China's refined copper production rose 7% in June recovering from 3 month low in May and matching a record high set last August as smelters bet on improving demand in the H2 as the government takes steps to boost the economy.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the on month rise had also been broadly expected because some smelters picked up production in June after operations had slowed due to maintenance in May. Refined copper production was 518,000 tonnes in June versus 484,000 tonnes in May which was the lowest output since February.

Mr Chen Dixi an analyst at Jinrui Futures said that smelters had turned more optimistic on copper consumption since the middle of last month. Now the consensus in the metals industry is that consumption will be better in the H2 than in the H1 as government polices will be reflected in consumption. Jinrui is a subsidiary of China's top copper producer Jiangxi Copper.

Demand for refined copper in the world's top consumer of the metal has stayed weak for most of this year due to the slowdown in the economy. China's economy grew 7.6% in the Q2 of 2012 from a year earlier, its slowest pace in three years. The government is expected to respond by introducing more policies to support the economy.

Mr Chen said that the output of smelters in the second half was set to pick up. In the H2 demand from infrastructure projects, the auto sector and power cable manufacturing is likely to rise.

Source - Reuters

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