SMM data showed that China’s copper cathode output stood at 870,000 mt in December 2022, down 3.3% from the previous month and flat from the same period in 2021. The actual output was 17,900 mt lower than the expected 887,900 mt. The output totalled 10.28 million mt in 2022, up 3.07% or 306,200 mt year-on-year.