Spot treatment charges (TCs) for zinc concentrate have risen to their highest level since October 2016 while the market continues to shift from deficit to balance.
At the same time, Chinese tariffs on United States-origin metal concentrate shipments could disrupt flows of such material to the Asian nation. China announced early last month that it will apply an import tariff of 25% on zinc concentrate and a rate of 10% on lead concentrate originating from the US.Metal Bulletin assessed spot zinc concentrate TCs at $80-95 per tonne cif Asia Pacific on Friday August 31, up from $65-75 per tonne on July 27.In China's domestic market, terms are also sharply on the rise; zinc TCs climbed to 4,100-4,200 yuan ($600-615) per tonne for delivery to northern China in August, from 3,600-3,800 yuan per tonne a month earlier. TCs for delivery to smelters in southern China were up to 4,000-4,100 per tonne from 3,400-3,600 yuan in the same comparison.Some Chinese smelters have responded to the higher domestic terms by increasing their orders for imported zinc concentrate, ending the...