Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) for Asia Pacific continued to drop in the second half of March in the absence of Las Bambas output, while Chinese smelters are prepared to accept significantly lower spot TCs for the second quarter this year.
Fastmarkets' spot copper concentrate index for Asia Pacific was calculated at $66.7 per tonne/ 6.67 cents per lb on March 25, down from $69 per tonne/ 6.9 cents per lb two weeks ago. The index had settled at $74.30/7.43 cents a month ago. The index is at its lowest level in the past year - a period marked by soaring TC/RCs after Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin smelter in India was ordered to keep over 1 million tonnes of copper concentrates processing capacity off the market. In the past two weeks, several second-quarter spot parcels of standard concentrates were transacted at a level close to the low $70s for Asian smelters, including in China. Traders are bidding for nearby cargoes at TC/RCs in the mid-$50s to low $60s, while second-quarter cargoes of Constancia, Carmen and Escondida concentrates were said to be offered to the market in the past two weeks. Bids coming in...