Copper smelting activity across the world rose slightly in October compared with the prior month, according to the data from the SAVANT geospatial platform.
According to Guy Wolf, global head of analytics at Marex Spectron, which along with Earth-i analyzes monthly smelting activity using the SAVANT platform, the flat trend paints a picture of smelting activities normalizing as various regions across the world return online after the COVID-19-related shutdowns.
The global smelting activity dispersion index calculated by the platform stood at 50.3 in October, a small rise from 50.2 in the prior month. The data reflected regional divergence, with Europe, where copper smelting was muted so far, jumping to 66.5 last month from 51.7 in September.
South American smelters also increased their activities as reflected by the index for that region rising to 55.1 last month from 43.2 in September. Similarly, Asian countries, apart from China, witnessed smelting activities increasing to 52.1 on the SAVANT platform in October from 51.9 in the prior month.
North America had seen a huge rebound in smelting activity through August and September but stepped back last month with the index declining to a more normalized 45.4 from 56.5 in September. China, which was the first smelting region to recover from the pandemic’s impact, continued to reflect moderate capacity utilization despite lower maintenance activities. The index for this region fell to 42.2 in October from 50.2 in the prior month.