Spot zinc concentrate TCs swing from highs to lows as key mining regions hit lockdown

Zinc concentrate treatment charges (TCs) are dropping in China with smelters and traders scrambling to cover shortfalls in supply feed left by shuttered mines.

Countries across South America have brought in stringent lockdown measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus with top exporters Peru (2 million tonnes - 2019) and Bolivia (1.1 million tonnes - 2019) among the most restrictive to business operations.
This, combined with shutdowns at other significant production sites, comes at a time when Chinese smelters are beginning to return to the market for tonnages as constraints on people movement and factory operations ease in the country.
Fastmarkets assessed zinc spot concentrate TC, cif China, at $255-270 per tonne - a one-year low and down from $280-315 in February, which was close to a multi-year high.
"It's turning into a sellers' market, but it's difficult to say how stable that is," a trading source told Fastmarkets.

"Now you have a contango and low interest costs so it's not difficult to keep stuff on stock. Why would you sell high...

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