Copper Has Biggest Shortage in Two Years, Study Group Says
February 23, 2012, 7:54 AM ESTBy Claudia Carpenter
(Updates with biggest shortage in second paragraph.)
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Copper had the biggest shortage in two years in November on imports into China, the world’s largest buyer, according to the International Copper Study Group.
Refined production lagged behind demand by 119,000 metric tons, the most since 120,000 tons in March 2010, Ana Rebelo, ICSG chief statistician, said by phone today from Lisbon. China’s copper imports were “very low” in the first half of last year and then rebounded in November and December, she said.
For the first 11 months of 2011, the shortage was 382,000 tons compared with 460,000 tons in the same period of 2010, the ICSG said in a statement on its website today. Apparent world usage rose 2.7 percent as mine output gained 0.1 percent, it said. Apparent usage includes production, industry stockpiles and exports and imports.
In October and November, world usage jumped 12 percent as China’s apparent consumption climbed 38 percent, the ICSG said. China’s net imports in October and November were 59 percent higher than in the same period in 2010, the ICSG said. Demand in the U.S. and European Union was “essentially unchanged” in the first 11 months last year and fell 4 percent in Japan in the same period, it said. Apparent usage jumped 64 percent in Russia and 6 percent in India, the ICSG said.
--Editors: Claudia Carpenter, Dan Weeks
To contact the reporter on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
