The growth in production in Japan has led to increasedwire and cable demand. Data from the JapaneseElectric Wire and Cable Makers’ Association (JCMA)suggests a 7.1% y/y increase in copper wire and cableproduction in the last quarter. From the JCMA data, thelargest jump in consumption was seen in both theconstruction sector and the automotive sector. CRUforecasts suggest that some of the momentum in thesetwo sectors will weaken in the first half of 2014,therefore our expectations of wirerod production in2014 remains conservative. Housing starts in Japanwere up by almost 13% y/y in December.
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