Rubber Futures Pull Back

By Arata Hashizume

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Major Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. on Thursday announced it will invest about 600 million dollars (about 88 billion yen) to acquire a 30% stake in a copper mine development project in the western U.S. state of Arizona.

Mitsubishi hopes that the mine will be operational in around 2029. It will be the first time in 45 years for the company to take part in developing a copper mine in the United States. Mitsubishi hopes the project will help the company provide a stable supply of copper, which is in high demand.

The project is being advanced by major Canadian resource company Hudbay Minerals Inc. The two companies aim to finalize their research on commercializing the project and make a formal decision on whether to go ahead with it by 2026. The mine is expected to produce up to 100,000 tons of copper annually, with Mitsubishi securing 30% of the output. The trading house has yet to decide on purchasers for its portion of the copper. Mitsubishi has also said that it is considering constructing smelting facilities.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on products such as semi-finished copper since August. Raw copper materials are exempt from the tariff, but experts point out that moves to rebuild systems to produce and process copper in the United States may intensify.

Demand for copper is expected to grow, as the metal has a wide range of applications such as in electric vehicles and electric power grids for renewable energy. However, there are concerns that global supply may decline, as an increasing number of mines have run out of high-grade copper reserves and the costs of developing new mines have risen.

Mitsubishi has a stake in the copper industry in South America and had previously invested in another copper mine in the United States, though it withdrew in 2003 due to changes in market conditions and other reasons. The United States is one of the world's top copper-producing countries, ranking fifth in production and seventh in reserves. The trading house hopes that acquiring a stake in the new project will contribute to securing more copper and ensuring a stable supply of the metal.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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Steel rebar futures fell toward CNY 3,170 per tonne on Friday, their lowest in two weeks, as the latest batch of economic data in top consumer China disappointed markets.

China’s industrial production grew 5.7% in July, slowing from June’s 6.8% gain and missing forecasts of 5.9%.

Retail sales also rose 3.7%, down from 4.8% in June and well below the 4.6% consensus.

Additionally, new home prices fell 0.3% from the prior month, indicating weak property demand despite more local government incentives for homebuying.

Meanwhile, China’s crude steel output dropped to a seven-month low in July amid efforts to curb overcapacity, while extreme heat and heavy rainfall disrupted outdoor construction.

This has improved profitability and pushed steel mill margins back into positive territory.

Iron ore futures dropped to around CNY 773 per tonne on Friday, hitting a one-month low after a string of disappointing economic indicators from top consumer China.

Industrial production grew 5.7% in July, down from June’s 6.8% and below the 5.9% forecast. Retail sales rose 3.7%, slowing from 4.8% in June and missing expectations of 4.6%.

New home prices slipped 0.3% from the prior month after a 0.4% drop in June, underscoring sluggish property demand despite fresh local government incentives for homebuyers.

Meanwhile, China’s crude steel output fell to a seven-month low in July amid ongoing efforts to curb overcapacity.

Hot weather and heavy rainfall also hampered outdoor construction activity.

As a result, steel mill profitability has turned positive, which could lend some support to iron ore prices in the near term.

Malaysian palm oil futures edged higher, holding above MYR 4,400 per tonne and reversing the prior session’s losses amid a weaker ringgit and reports that Malaysia raised its September crude palm oil reference price, lifting the export duty to 10%.

For the week, contracts are on track for the second straight weekly gain, up over 3.5%, supported by strong export demand, with cargo surveyors reporting shipments in the first ten days of August surged more than 23% from a month earlier.

However, weaker edible oil prices on the Dalian and Chicago exchanges capped further gains.

Meanwhile, in top consumer India, July palm oil imports fell 10.5% from June to 855,695 metric tons, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association, after a steep hike in crude palm oil and refined palm olein import duties to 19.25% from 8.25%.

Meanwhile, fresh data from China, a major consumer, signaled slowing economic momentum in July amid trade barriers, weak domestic demand, and weather disruptions.

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Copper futures hovered around $4.47 per pound on Friday, on track to finish the week little changed as investors continued to assess supply-side disruptions.

The suspension of underground operations at Codelco’s El Teniente mine cut near-term output estimates by 20,000–30,000 metric tons.

Still, the Chilean state-owned copper miner reaffirmed its $9,500-a-ton price forecast for the next two years.

Meanwhile, prices stayed near four-month lows as traders assessed the implications of US tariff exemptions on certain copper products.

Refined copper was excluded from the planned 50% US import tariffs, leaving domestic traders holding large stockpiles.

Instead, the duties will target semi-finished copper goods such as wires and pipes, while sparing ore, cathodes, and concentrates — the most common US copper imports.