Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose at the end of September after smelters in China cherry-picked deals and traders bid on nearby tenders at higher numbers.
The copper concentrate index rose to $86.4 per tonne / 8.64 cents per lb on Friday September 28, an increase of $2.40/0.24 cents and the highest since October 2017. And with mine disruption worries firmly in the past, the copper concentrate market is expecting a well-supplied market for the rest of 2018, despite some traders speculating on cargoes at low levels for next year. Chinese smelters set out stall for Q4 over $90/9 cents Terms for copper concentrates to smelters remain high, with the market slowing down ahead of national holidays in early October. On September 21, the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) set the fourth-quarter base price for TC/RCs at $90 per tonne /9 cents per lb. Smelters active in the market are looking to fill concentrate short positions at ever higher levels, with mixed success. Deals reported to Fastmarkets MB were done in a range of $90-98...