China Apr copper output rises to 338,300 T

China, the world's top consumer and maker of many base metals, produced more refined copper and tin in April than March as big smelters pushed up output after slowing earlier in the year, analysts said on Wednesday.

But a shorter month in April cut daily output of primary aluminium, lead and zinc from March, even though some smelters had also restarted capacity.China's refined copper production rose 5.9 percent on the month to 338,300 tonnes in April, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Tight supply of scrap, an alternative for refined copper production, had cut smelters' output in the first quarter. But scrap imports rose 21 percent on the month in April, easing domestic tightness.

Tin production increased 17.5 percent on the month to 12,472 tonnes in April thanks to a resumption of production at top producer, Yunnan Tin <000960.SZ>. "We restarted production in March and the output has been rising," an executive at Yunnan Tin said.

A monthly drop of 2.9 percent in primary aluminium production in April was a surprise, given Chinese smelters had restarted 1-1.5 million tonnes of smelting capacity in March-April, Heng Kun, Shanghai-based analyst at Essence Securities said.

The country produced 876,300 tonnes of primary aluminium in April, down from 902,300 tonnes in the previous month, the official data showed. Heng said a shorter month in April had reduced the output versus March and the output should be higher at a daily basis.

The daily output was 29,210 tonnes in April versus 29,107 tonnes. Output will rise in May from the restarted capacity, Heng and a smelter official predicted.

Lead production dropped to 302,300 tonnes in April versus 335,200 tonnes in March. Zinc was 334,900 tonnes versus 344,200 tonnes.

Nickel output also dropped to 14,092 tonnes in April after falling 6 percent in March.

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