The spot lead concentrate treatment charge (TC) dropped in December in the first downward movement for six months.
Lead concentrate TCs had tripled over the past half-year as an arbitrage that enticed Chinese buying for years finally closed.
Fastmarkets assessed
lead spot concentrate TC, high silver, cif China at $150-170 per tonne on December 27, down from $170-185 per tonne in November but up considerably from the $40-60 per tonne set at the end of June, just before the rally started.
The corresponding assessment for
lead spot concentrate TC, low silver, cif China slid to $150-170 per tonne from $160-180 per tonne in the same comparison.
Terms have risen unchecked since many in the market fled to the sidelines, but over the past month traders have been returning to the market for tonnes, seemingly happy to speculate with TCs at their highest in at least three years.
Tenders from Frisco, Minera Bateas, Austria Duvas and Black Mountain were...