BEIJING, July 13 - China's copper concentrate processing and refining charges (TC/RC) rose again in the week ended July 9 due to slow spot purchases.
TC/RC for China's copper concentrate rose to $46.2 and 4.62 cents per ton on July 9, up from $45.2 and 4.52 cents per ton on July 2.
A pledge by China's major smelters in May to import less copper concentrate and use more scrap and crude copper in refined metal production is already having an effect, according to a smelting official. Officials said the near-term willingness to buy copper concentrate was low as traders with large concentrates were eager to sell given the recent rise in TC/ RCS, which provided the impetus for the rise in spot TC/ RCS.
On May 9, China's 15 major smelters agreed to reduce their purchases of copper concentrate by 8.8 per cent, or 1.26 million tons, by the end of this year, citing mitigation of emissions and the then-low TC/ RCS.
TC/RC of spot copper concentrate has risen 48.1% from US $31.2 / ton and US $3.12 / lb on May 7.
