The lead import arbitrage in China re-opened in May causing lead concentrate imports to rise and lead concentrate treatment charges (TCs) to tumble, while spot terms for zinc concentrates stabilized.
Fastmarkets' TCs index for low-silver lead concentrates dropped to a 19-month low of $5-15 per tonne on a cif China basis on Friday May 31, from $15-35 per tonne at the end of April. Several deals for low-silver material were reported to Fastmarkets traded at single-digit TCs because local traders and smelters are looking to pick up material while there are profits to be made. China imported 135,523 tonnes of lead concentrates in April, up by 16.72% from 116,114 tonnes in March, and 29.75% higher than 104,449 tonnes in April 2018, according to data from China's customs. "There's still good demand for lead concentrates with the arb open," a trading source told Fastmarkets. Renewed spot buying of lead concentrates comes at the time that annual contracts have settled for concentrate supply typically viewed as market benchmarks. South 32 agreed annual supply contracts at TC/RCs rolled over from the 2018 deal. The mining...