According to internal sources, the copper concentrate benchmark TC/RC under long-term contracts have been set at $65/mt and ￠6.5/lb respectively in 2022.

The CSPT held a general manager office conference in Shanghai this morning, at which the spot TC/RC guidance price was finalised at $70/mt and￠7.0/lb in Q4. Spot TC has fallen to $30/mt at the end of March, the lowest level in ten years. Many smelters suggested that they could not accept prices below $30/mt. In doing so, the CSPT did not determine the rock-bottom price for Q2, the price in Q3 rose slightly from Q1 and increased sharply in Q4, indicating that the tight supply of copper concentrate was eased.

SMM RCs for domestic blister copper stood at 1,800-2,000 yuan/mt in May, up 100 yuan/mt month on month. RCs for imported blister copper were $185-205/mt on a cif basis, up $15/mt on the month.

The China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) held a first-quarter general manager's office meeting in Shanghai Pudong this morning.

It is reported that a senior executive of China Minmetals Corporation on Tuesday called for the establishment of a joint organization of Chinese zinc smelters to negotiate with miners on zinc concentrate supply and pricing in the light of the existing joint negotiation group on copper raw materials in China. "We want to build a healthier market," he said. “The aim of this proposal is for Chinese zinc smelters to agree on a TC benchmark price for zinc concentrates in the future. We need more support from smelters now. "

China's Elimination on Excess Capacity in Steel Continue to Act Positively

China’s Supply-Side Reform Continues to Reduce Capacity, Resulting in Lower Supply Marginal Elasticity vs. 2017

This week's update: Pay attention to SHFE Zinc

Where Will Steel Prices Go under the Long-and-Short Game?

The floor price of copper concentrate's treatment charge (TC) for the second quarter of 2018 fell to a low from 2014