Trading Houses Raise TCs for Imported, Low-silver-content Lead Concentrates

SHANGHAI, Jul. 15 (SMM) – Most trading houses raised treatment charges (TCs) for imported lead concentrates with low silver content by $10 per ton last week, Shanghai Metals Market has learned.

Traders raised TCs for imported lead concentrates with low silver content to $110-135 per ton after London Metal Exchange prices broke through $2,100 per ton, a key psychological level, last week.

They did so to bring the charges more in line with those for domestically-mined concentrates, according to SMM’s lead analyst Zhu Rongrong.

TCs for imported lead concentrates with high silver content were left unchanged at $140-160 per ton with few deals reported.

Meanwhile, TCs for domestic lead concentrates were largely quoted between 1,700-1,900 yuan ($275-307) per ton with supplies remaining tight.