Satellite monitoring data of copper smelters showed that global copper smelting activities recovered in August, mainly due to the surge in North American activities.
Satellite service provider SAVANT and broker Marex Spectron issued a joint statement on Thursday that China’s copper smelting production continued its downward trend, but this may be due to the need for maintenance.
Guy Wolf, global head of analytics company Marex, said: "The most striking data in August was the rebound in North American smelting activity, with a large amount of capacity to be put into use. Since the first quarter, North American smelting activity has been extremely sluggish."
Earth-i, which specializes in geospatial data, launched the Savant service at the end of last year, tracking more than 100 smelters, which account for 80%-90% of global production.
The company's global diversified average index rose to 44.2 in August from 41.5 a month ago.
SAVANT launched the dispersion index in June, and 50 points indicate that the smelter's operating level is at the average level of the past 12 months. It also has a second index showing the percentage of active smelters.
China's diversified index fell from 43.1 in July to 39.3 in August, the lowest level since March 2018, while the North American index soared to 58.7 from 26.2 a month ago.
WOlf said: “China’s August decline seems to be related to maintenance, not demand-driven. September data shows that activity is returning to more normal levels.”
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