China March copper, lead and zinc output up y/y

China's major copper smelters lifted output in March by 17.1% year-on-year and 4.4% month-on-month as minimal maintenance meant higher production, state-backed research house Antaike said on Monday.

The 22 smelters in its copper production survey churned out 792,800 tonnes of cathodes last month, up from a low base in coronavirus-affected March 2020 and a 28-day February in 2021.

A slight increase in maintenance this month will see April cathode output fall to around 780,000 tonnes, Antaike said.

Chinese zinc smelters, in a separate Antaike survey, produced 426,000 tonnes of zinc in March, up 7% year-on-year but down 9.8% month-on-month on a daily basis, as energy consumption curbs in inner Mongolia hit production.

Zinc output is forecast to rise by 6,700 tonnes in April and another 10,000 tonnes in May, with the increases limited by maintenance and environmental inspections, Antaike said.

China's March refined lead production was 383,000 tonnes, up 54,000 tonnes from February and up 14.7% year-on-year, said Antaike, which sees April output rising to 390,000 tonnes on higher recycled lead supply.