Hong Kong (Platts)--9Jan2013/714 am EST/1214 GMT

China's refined copper consumption is forecast to rise 5.5% to 8.1 million mt in 2013 from realized consumption of 7.68 million mt in 2012, state-run nonferrous metals information provider Beijing Antaike said Wednesday.

"Refined copper consumption in China is expected to slightly increase this year as higher industrial production in China will drive up demand for the metal," an Antaike copper analyst said.

About 45% of demand for refined copper in China comes from the power sector, and the rest from air-conditioning, transport and construction sectors.

Antaike estimated China's 2013 refined copper output at 6.1 million mt, up 9% from around 5.6 million mt produced in 2012.

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"Refined copper output will continue to rise in China as we expect to see more copper producers ramp up their output capacity this year due to better market conditions," the analyst said.

China is forecast to import 2.8 million-2.9 million mt of refined copper in 2013, down from around 3.4 million in 2012, as the arbitrage between LME and the Shanghai Futures Exchange narrows amid the rise in domestic production, the analyst said.

--Wendy Shair, newsdesk@platts.com
--Edited by Wendy Wells, wendy_wells@platts.com

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