Kenobi
/ 2009-03-26 13:54
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Uznany malkontent giełdowy
TOKYO, March 26 (Reuters) - Japan's demand for copper wire and cables is expected to sink to its lowest in 34 years in the next business year, with no end in sight to a deepening demand decline in the world's No. 4 consumer, industry groups said.
Data on Thursday showing production of rolled copper products dived nearly 60 percent from last year -- the biggest ever fall -- while wire and cable output fell by a third underscored the dramatic slow-down in industrial activity.
"There's concern in the industry as we cannot tell when we will hit bottom," Kazuhiko Ohashi, chairman of the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, said on Thursday.
The association -- whose members account for about 60 percent of Japan's copper use -- said copper wire and cable shipments in the year to March 2010 are likely to fall 7.9 percent to an estimated 705,000 tonnes, the lowest since 1975.
For more details on its forecasts click:
For a history of copper wire and cable shipments:
https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/JP_CBLCPR0309.jpg
Separately, the Japan Copper and Brass Association said it would not give its traditional annual forecast because of the deep uncertainty over the outlook after February production of rolled copper products fell to 37,381 tonnes in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 58.5 percent from a year earlier.
It was the seventh straight month of decline, a drop of 18.7 percent fall from the month earlier.