TCs for Copper Concentrate Reached $60/mt amid Rebounding Market Trade

SHANGHAI, Jul 30 (SMM) -  SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) reported $57.65/mt as of July 30, up $3.95/mt from July 23, a wider increase on the week. The Import Copper Concentrate Index (monthly) for July registered $51.1/mt, up $13.54/mt from June.

The traded shipments this week are mostly scheduled in September, while some traders offered quotations for the shipments in October, which basically stood low at around $50/mt, but transactions were scarce.

Market trade rebounded this week, and the transactions were scattered from $50/mt to $60/mt, indicating the wide divergence in the attitude towards the rapidly rising TCs. Some traders signed the TCs at $60/mt mainly for the due shipments.

CSPT team discussed in the second week of July to raise the guidance TC for spot copper concentrate in Q3 from $55/mt and 5.5 ￠/lb to $60/mt and 6 ￠/lb.

Most sellers were reluctant to accept the surging TCs for copper concentrate. The negotiations on the labour contracts were not smooth in Andina and Escondida, which brought the strike risks. The blockade of three neighbourhoods in Chumbivilcas impeded the shipments of Las Bambas.

At the same time, some TCs for spot concentrate have exceeded that of long-term orders signed by concentrate traders. Mines were more eager to sell at high copper prices, while the higher TC was beneficial to the smelters. Traders mostly chose to increase the shipments for long-term orders under the dual pressures, which may slow down the rise of TCs for copper concentrate.

Smelters had stronger confidence amid surging TCs and sufficient inventories. A copper smelter in central Shandong had equipment failure in mid-July, and the power curtailment in south and south-west China was stricter after the market turned to sell copper concentrate, which had limited the raw materials in some smelters.

The pricing coefficient of domestic copper concentrate (Cu 20%) stood stable between 89-91% (spot cargoes, delivery to factory) for domestic smelters.