Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves from the past week in the world's metal markets.
Base metals The persistent widening backwardation on the July/August spread has pushed aluminium premiums in Rotterdam to their lowest this year, with bearish sentiment sweeping the market. Premiums for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the third quarter of 2018 have settled at $132 per tonne, a 2.3% increase from the second-quarter benchmark of $129 per tonne, sources involved directly in the negotiations told Metal Bulletin. Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) rose sharply in late June, with production disruptions at several Asian smelters giving Chinese plants greater buying power.Chinese zinc smelters should...