Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) continued to fall this week with tenders for nearby cargoes reaching new lows amid concerns over delivery delays from Peru's southern copper belt.
At $51.2 per tonne / 5.12 cents per lb on Friday July 26, Fastmarkets' copper concentrates TC/RC index, cif Asia Pacific is slightly down against last Friday's $51.6 / 5.16 cents. The index remains at its lowest point since it was first published in June 2013. Traders remain active buyers of concentrates at lower and lower TC/RCs; August shipment tenders for Carmen and Las Bambas material were awarded this week in the mid-$30s and mid-high $30s respectively. High-arsenic (1.3%) Toromocho cargoes were heard to be tendered in the mid-$80s gross of penalties. That said, several private miner-to-trader deals were reported to Fastmarkets in the mid-$40s/4s, offsetting the lower tenders slightly. Matarani port blockade cuts off exports from...