BEIJING: China's refined copper output jumped by 16.7 percent year on year to a record high in December, as smelters looked to churn out as much metal as possible ahead of a fall in treatment charges for copper concentrate.
The world's biggest copper consumer produced 865,000 tonnes of refined copper last month, beating the previous high of 833,000 tonnes set in December 2014, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday.
The December volume was up 10 percent from November, according to the data. Annual refined copper output also hit a record at 8.89 million tonnes.
The new monthly peak casts doubt on whether smelters have actually cut production to comply with winter curbs on industrial output. Copper has not been as affected as other metals such as aluminium in this regard, and China's major primary copper smelters are located outside the northern regions subject to the restrictions.
The ramp-up in output came ahead of an 8.4 percent drop in the floor for treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) levied by Chinese smelters on miners for the first quarter of 2018, incentivizing the smelters to cash in on higher rates at the end of last year.
The 2018 TC/RC benchmark agreed between Chinese smelter Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and miner Freeport-McMoRan also came down from 2017.
Among other base metals, China's lead output was flat month-on-month at 424,000 tonnes in December, while zinc production was down 4.5 percent from November at 576,000 tonnes last month.
December output of alumina, used to make aluminium, was down 11.8 percent year on year but up 8.2 percent on the month to 5.26 million tonnes. Iron ore production slid from November to 109.22 million tonnes, its lowest level since May.
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