Chinese Copper Concentrate: Processing Fees Continue To Decline Due To Tight Supply.

The processing and refining fees for copper concentrate in China continued to decline last week, and the market expects that the supply of copper concentrate will remain tight next year. The Agence France-Presse (Afp) weekly purchase index for smelters dropped from -43.00 US dollars/ton and -4.30 cents/pound on December 5th to -43.30 US dollars/ton and -4.33 cents/pound on December 12th, while the trader's purchase index fell from -100.70 US dollars/ton and -10.07 cents/pound to -101.00 US dollars/ton and -10.10 cents/pound. The average weekly copper concentrate TC/RC index of Afp dropped from -71.85 US dollars/ton and -7.185 cents/pound on December 5th to -72.15 US dollars/ton and -7.215 cents/pound on December 12th.