Despite summer holidays where most Asian manufacturing plants were closed, buyers in mid-August at wire manufacturing plants had suppliers open their copper wirebar order books to take advantage of falling cathode prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME)—which slipped around $3.15/lb from an 2007 high of $3.62 on average in July.

A marketing source at a Japanese copper smelter acknowledged to Platts Metals News that orders and inquiries surged as prices collapsed. A procurement official at a Tokyo-based copper cable manufacturer confirmed that he was placing orders. Copper wire and cables account for 60%–70% of Japan's total copper cathode consumption of around 1.2 million metric tons/year.

In Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, copper-purchase decisions are sometimes made by such consumers of copper wire and cables as automotive, home appliance and electric equipment makers as well as by buyers at cable makers themselves. "We have been busy, busy," says the Japanese copper cable firm's purchasing executive, "and our customers were buying, as well."

The news service says that such other regional copper users as tube and sheet makers appear to be waiting until LME prices fall further—which other copper smelter sources are attributing to lower demand. "Copper tubes are used for air conditioners and the demand season is basically over in Japan," he tells Platts. A trader adds that there also has been a slowdown in semiconductor-related products demand—"so copper users in the information-technology sector don't need to buy, even if copper prices fell lower."