Market and product

Bloomberg reported that Japan’s output of copper and copperalloy fabricated products including sheets and tubes climbed 18.2% in Augustfrom a year earlier increasing for the 10th straight month.

The Japan Copper and Brass Association said that production was 65,820tonnes last month compared with 55,670 tonnes per year ago. July outputwas 75,860 tonnes.

Copper, used in pipes and wires, has risen about 24% in the past year.Japan’s economy slowed less than initially estimated in the Q2 ascompanies boosted capital spending indicating that the nation’srecovery was intact before a surge in the yen threatened to stuntexport gains.

Mr Keizo Tani the association’s research section manager said that“Gradually it’s been recovering to a level seen before the economiccrisis in 2008. The industry has been bolstered by exports to emergingmarkets rather than domestic consumption.”

The association increased its output estimate in the year ending March2011 to 865,400 tonnes from its March projection of 855,000 tonnes.Production totaled 753,848 tonnes in the year ended March 31.

The Cabinet Office said recently that Japan’s gross domestic productgrew an annualized 1.5% in the Q2 faster than the 0.4% pace reported inAugust. The economy expanded 5 percent in the first quarter.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)