Chinese Copper Smelters to Finalise Guidance TCs for Spot Copper Concentrate Procurement in Second Quarter of 2023

SHANGHAI, Mar 27 (SMM) - As of last Friday March 24, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) stood at $77.81/mt, $2.23/mt higher than the previous week. The spot market of copper concentrate was quiet.

This week, the China Smelters Purchase Team (CSPT) will finalise the guidance TCs for spot copper concentrate procurement in the second quarter of 2023 at the office meeting of the general managers in the first quarter of 2023.

SMM heard that market participants expect that the to-be-set guidance TCs may exceed the benchmark TCs for long-term contracts in 2023. Smelters may start to make inquiries about the spot raw materials for the second half of the year after the CSPT group meeting this week. At present, traders’ quotes of the seaborne clean ore scheduled for shipments in the second quarter stand at above $78/mt, and the inquiries of smelters stand at $81-85/mt. The price coefficient of Cu 20% domestic ore stood at 88.5-89.5%.