Global copper smelting activity bounced slightly in July, despite a sharp fall in top refined producer China, data from satellite surveillance of metal processing plants showed on Thursday.
“The weakness here (in China) was driven by subdued activity in the east and south central regions,” commodities broker Marex and the SAVANT satellite service said in a statement.
Activity in China, however, recovered towards the end of the month in line with firmer copper prices and higher fees paid to custom smelters, it added.
“Apart from Asia and Oceania, all other regions outside China recorded increasing levels of activity,” the statement said.
Earth-i, which specialises in observational data, tracks smelters representing 80-90% of global production. It sells data to fund managers, traders and miners. It also publishes a free monthly index of global copper smelter activity.
Its global dispersion index rose to an average of 46.8 in July from 45.9 in June, even though Chinese smelting activity tumbled by 10.9 points to 44.8, the largest fall since the imposition of strict Covid-19 lockdowns in China in the first quarter of 2022.
A measure of 50 points indicates that smelters are operating at the average level of the past 12 months.
In nickel, the global dispersion index edged down to 40.0 in July from 40.4 in June, the eighth consecutive monthly fall and its lowest level in a year.
(By Eric Onstad; Editing by Mark Potter)
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