On July 19, the SMM Imported Copper Concentrate Index (weekly) was $5.75/mt, up $2.51/mt WoW. The pricing coefficient for 20% grade domestic ore was 91%-93%.
During the week, the activity in the spot market for copper concentrate picked up somewhat. Smelters were not short of raw materials for August-September. The short-term oversupply of spot goods caused the focus of spot TCs to shift upwards. Traders held more copper concentrates recently. Overseas miners expect LME copper price in December to reach its peak for the year. The pricing period between mines and traders is mostly M+4, and mines aim to set the M+4 copper cash settlement price in December to maximize sales profits.
According to an SMM survey, a smelter recently purchased 10,000 mt of Quellaveco copper concentrate for August shipment at TC of $10/mt, with QP M+4. During the week, a trader sold 10,000 mt of clean ore with a gold content of 5-8g to a smelter at TC of $10/mt, with a gold payable of 95% and a shipment period in August.
Antofagasta announced that due to the decline in copper grades at the Los Pelambres and Centinela mines, the annual copper production is expected to hit the lower end of the guidance range of 670,000-710,000 mt. In H1 2024, Yimen Copper's blister copper production completed 51.31% of the annual plan, up 16.29% YoY; sulfuric acid production completed 50.06% of the annual plan, up 5.24% YoY. Additionally, according to an SMM survey, a smelter with a new project this year is expected to reduce the production load of its old capacity after the new capacity comes into operation.
As of July 19, SMM copper concentrate inventory across 9 ports was 820,200 mt, up 23,000 mt WoW, with the main increase coming from Jinzhou Port, where inventory increased by 26,000 mt WoW.
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