London, Aug. 18 - global copper smelting activity fell to a low level in more than two years in July, according to satellite surveillance data on copper factories.

    Satellite service company savant and brokerage firm MAREX Spectron said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the weak performance appeared to be partly due to increased maintenance at the smelter.

    "An unusually rapid global decline and record maintenance can be observed."

    Earth-i, which specializes in geospatial data, launched savant at the end of last year, tracking more than 100 smelters, which account for 80-90% of global production.

    It sells data to fund managers, traders and miners and publishes free monthly indices of global copper smelter activity.

    The global dispersion index fell to 41.5 in July, the lowest since March 2018, from 50.7 last month.

    Savant launched the dispersion index in June, with 50 points indicating the average operating level of the smelter in the past 12 months. It also has a second index, which shows the percentage of smelter activity.

    "In recent months, the level of global activity has been largely supported by exceptionally strong readings in China," said Guy wolf, head of global analysis who helped develop savant with MAREX

    "With more maintenance in China, the global weakness is more obvious."

    "It is particularly surprising that the level of activity in North America is abnormally low. Real traders will keep vigilant in case this will lead to a stronger premium in the second half of the year. "

    China's dispersion index fell to 43.1 in July, the lowest since December 2019, while the North American index fell to a record low of 26.2 from 34.2 last month.

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