Chinese spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges or TC/RCs for clean ore continued to rise with indications heard exceeding $100/mt and 10 cents/lb on ample market supply, industry sources said Wednesday.
Spot TC/RCs for mixed ore were generally about $20/mt and 2 cents/lb above the clean ones.
TC/RCs are fees charged to miners by smelters to treat and refine copper concentrate to produce copper metal. They typically rise when concentrate supply is ample and fall when supply is tight.
"The spot TC/RCs for clean ore are at in excess of $100/mt (and 10 cents/lb) now, compared with around $95/mt (and 9.5 cents/lb) in May and in excess of $80/mt (and 8 cents/lb) in April," said a north China-based analyst.
An east China-based industry source and a north China-based industry source heard the spot TC/RCs at $95-$100/mt and 9.5-10 cents/lb this week, while a Japanese trader heard at in excess of $100/mt and 10 cents/lb.
"There is a lot of supply in the market and the spot TC/RCs have gone up from $93-$99/mt and 9.3-9.9 cents/lb last week," this eastern Chinese industry source added.
The northern Chinese industry source said: "China's copper concentrate imports from Peru saw a hike in April."
China imported 299,618 mt of copper concentrate from Peru in April, up 13% on the month and up 24.4% on the year, according to latest monthly data from the General Administration of Customs.
Over January-April, China's imports from Peru were 1.3 million mt, up 77.7% on the year.
The Japanese trader said: "I heard negotiations around $95/mt (and 9.5 cents/lb) but done at in excess of $100/mt (and 10 cents/lb) and even at $110/mt (and 11 cents/lb). The market is oversupplied. The demand was down in March-April as the dirty ore grade was not that bad and the demand for clean ore to blend with it went down. In addition, several Chinese smelters were conducting maintenance in the second quarter, thereby reducing the consumption."
