April 21 (Argus) - Due to an increase in by-product revenues, Chinese smelters have raised their refined copper production, and copper concentrate imports in March have increased year-on-year. According to Chinese customs data, China imported 2.62 million tons of copper concentrate in March, a 10% increase compared to the same period last year. Based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, refined copper production increased by 8.7% to 1.33 million tons in March. The rise in the price of sulfuric acid has continued to boost the profits of smelters and supported high operating rates. According to the price assessment by Argus, the spot sulfuric acid price in Shandong Province rose by 835 yuan/ton (122 US dollars/ton) in March. Argus estimates that this increased sulfuric acid-related income per ton of copper by over 3,300 yuan.
The import volume in March increased by 14% compared to February, as smelters raised production during the traditional consumption peak to meet demand. The total import volume of copper concentrate in the first quarter was 7.56 million tons, a 6.4% increase year-on-year. Due to the increase in deliveries from Chinese-owned mines to offset the impact of weakened supply from South America, the shipping volume from Serbia and the Democratic Republic of Congo increased by 71% and 5.5% respectively from January to March. Due to the increase in sulfuric acid revenues, smelters were able to accept lower copper concentrate processing conditions, and the spot processing and refining fees (TC/RCs) dropped significantly in March. The Argus weekly purchasing TC index for smelters in March 27th dropped to -67.80 US dollars/ton and -6.78 cents/pound, compared to -51.60 US dollars/ton and -5.16 cents/pound on February 27th.
