The Japan Copper Stretching Association recently released its medium-term forecast for copper demand till the financial year 2026 (FY’26). The average growth rate for the last four years to FY’26 is 3.4%. Demand is projected to reach 700,000 tonnes (t) in FY’26. Although demand is set to recover, it will remain below pre-Lehman shock levels, which exceeded 1 million tonnes (mnt).
In FY’24, demand is expected to grow by 3.1% y-o-y to 657,800 t. The association forecasts steady annual growth of around 3%, reaching 704,800 t by FY’26.
Through FY’26, the company expects to see moderate growth, mainly in copper strips, where demand for semiconductors, terminals, and connectors is expected to grow due to high-speed communications, CASE-related, and increased demand for data centres, and the full-scale spread of AI and IoT in daily life and technological innovation.
Along with the full-year forecast, the association also released a revised forecast for FY’24.
- Copper strips: 247,400 t (+4.4% y-o-y)
- Copper tubes: 83,500 t (+12.7% y-o-y)
- Brass strips: 80,200 t (-3.2% y-o-y)
- Brass rods: 142,100 t (-1.8% y-o-y)
- Bronze strips: 21,300 t (+9% y-o-y)
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