Chinese copper smelters will continue to lead benchmark copper concentrate negotiations despite approaching Japan's Pan Pacific Copper (PPC) to negotiate the annual deal from a stronger position, sources said.
During late-October's LME Week, talk emerged that Chinese smelters would accept an agreement set by PPC, Asia's largest copper smelter outside China, if it settled a number earlier than during the Chinese smelter-international miner discussion. But Fastmarkets understands PPC and other Japanese smelters do not wish to take the lead on the 2020 benchmark despite being approached and the possibility of negotiating with arguably better leverage than their Chinese peers. "The idea has been dismissed by PPC who showed no interest in being the price setter," a Japanese industry source said. "The Japanese...