Aluminum Demand, Copper Output Jump to Year’s High (Update1)

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Aluminum shipments and copper product output in Japan jumped to the highest level this year as the global economy recovered from the worst slump since the Great Depression. Supplies of aluminum rolled products to the domestic and export markets gained 5.1 percent in July from June to 166,673 metric tons, the most since October, the Japan Aluminium Association said today. Copper and alloy product output rose 6.1 percent to the highest level since November, the Japan Copper and Brass Association said. Aluminum has gained 20 percent and copper has more than doubled on signs the world economy is emerging from recession as record-low interest rates and trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus spur demand. Japan’s economy grew for the first time in five quarters in the three months to June 30. “Shipments improved thanks to better demand from the auto and electronics industries,” said Koji Iida, the aluminium association spokesman. “Sales may decline in August as a cool and rainy summer slowed sales of beverage cans.” Aluminum for delivery in three months in London fell 1.3 percent to $1,841 a ton at 5:26 p.m. Tokyo time. Copper, used in homes and cars, fell 0.5 percent to $6,260 a ton. Compared with a year earlier, July’s shipments of aluminum rolled products dropped 20 percent as demand from the construction sector remained weak, the association said. Still, the pace of decrease was the slowest in eight months, it said. Car Sales Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, this month raised its global sales forecast to 6.6 million vehicles from its May forecast of 6.5 million as government stimulus measures boost demand. The U.S., Germany, Japan and China offered consumers credits, tax breaks and subsidies for trading in old cars as the vehicle industry’s worst slump in decades forced Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. into bankruptcy. Japan’s economy grew last quarter as exports and consumer spending rebounded. Gross domestic product expanded at an annual 3.7 percent pace in the period ended June 30, following an 11.7 percent decline in the first three months of the year, the Cabinet Office said Aug. 17. The global economy is beginning to recover from the recession, Olivier Blanchard, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, said in a paper released Aug. 18. Pace of Decline The pace of decline in Japan’s aluminum shipments slowed in July for a fifth month after starting to drop in October. Shipments plunged 39 percent in February, the worst slump in 34 years, as the recession slashed demand for the metal used in cars and houses. Production of copper and copper alloy fabricated products, including sheets and tubes, was 62,800 tons last month, up from 59,188 tons in June, the Japan Copper and Brass Association said, citing preliminary data. That compared with 85,377 tons a year earlier. Output in March had tumbled to 34,512 tons, the lowest since November 1974. The Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association said on Aug. 24 the country’s copper wire and cable shipments climbed in July to the highest level since November. Shipments, including exports and domestic business, were 58,200 tons last month, up 8.9 percent from June and gained 30 percent than May, when they reached the lowest level since February 1975, the group’s data showed. July’s shipments were down 21 percent from 73,244 tons a year earlier, it said.