Japanese copper smelters’ H2 output seen rising 5.5% y/y

Japan’s refined copper production in the second half of fiscal 2025 is expected to rise 5.5% from a year earlier, Reuters calculations from plans outlined by smelters showed, due to reduced maintenance activities and solid demand.

The financial second half falls between October and March.

Japan’s biggest copper supplier Pan Pacific Copper (PPC) expects its second-half supply to rise after a drop a year earlier caused by scheduled renovation work at the Hitachi Refinery in eastern Japan, a company spokesperson said.

PPC, jointly owned by JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Mining and Smelting and Marubeni, outsources smelting and refining operations to its parent companies’ plants. It procures raw materials and sells the refined metals.

The company sees solid demand from local electronics parts and construction sectors, the spokesperson added.

Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) also expects a 21% rise in second-half output following a two-month maintenance shutdown at its Toyo Smelter & Refinery in western Japan between September and November last year, a company spokesperson said.

In March, the Japan Copper and Brass Association projected a 5.9% increase in domestic demand for copper products in fiscal 2025, citing an expected recovery in the automobile and chip industries that will drive demand for plates and strips, copper tubes, and brass bars.

The Japan Electric Wire & Cable Makers’ Association (JCMA) has also forecast 2% growth in domestic copper wire shipments in the current year, helped by a resurgence in the semiconductor industry and robust export demand.

Below are the production plans of base metals in metric tons for October to March by key suppliers PPC, Mitsubishi Materials, SMM, Furukawa, Dowa Holdings, Mitsui Mining and Smelting, Nittetsu Mining and Toho Zinc.

The table shows comparisons against planned or estimated production in metric tons in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year and actual output in the second half of the 2023/24 year that ended on March 31, with year-on-year percentage changes for the second half of 2024/25.

(By Yuka Obayashi)