Spot trading interest in blister copper was unusually high in April with both smelters and traders looking for units to fill a supply gap arising from delayed African shipments, sending the refining charge (RC) to the lowest level in over two years.
Fastmarkets assessed the RC for 98-99% blister copper cif China at $117-132 per tonne on April 30, down from $130-140 per tonne at the end of March. The RC at the midpoint is already lower than the annual benchmark of $128 per tonne agreed between Jiangxi Copper and Chambishi.For trader purchases, a 4,000-tonne tender of Codelco's spent anodes for May and June shipment has been awarded at a RC in...