Freeport Indonesia's Manyar Smelter in East Java Resumes Operations, Copper Cathode Production Expected in June

Chilean miner AMSA and some core copper smelters in China finalised the pricing scheme for mid-year long-term contract copper concentrate TCs on July 1, abandoning the traditional fixed TC model for the first time and switching to a floor-index-linked pricing mechanism. It is reported that, as spot copper concentrate TCs had been consistently hitting historic lows, this brought multiple divergences to the mid-year long-term contract negotiations. China’s smelters have historically used fixed TCs for mid-year long-term contracts, but AMSA insisted on switching to index-based pricing this time, and ultimately the two sides reached an innovative compromise.

[SMM Copper Market Flash] After SHFE copper closed today, COMEX copper prices surged, while LME’s decline widened to over 1.7%; currently, the COMEX2607-LME spread has widened to over $300/mt, and the COMEX2610-LME spread to over $500/mt. It is reported that there is still no clear news on the Section 232 tariff, and the LC spread has been relatively active.