Copper surged to a record high on Friday amid a volatile trading session after an hours-long halt on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange disrupted markets. The renewed bullish momentum in Copper follows an upbeat CESCO Week event in Shanghai, which reinforced expectations of tighter supply. Copper’s rally this year has been fuelled by mine disruptions and distortions to trade flows amid Trump’s tariffs. Copper is up around 27% this year, ING’s commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.
China smelters plan cuts to concentrate intake
“Also, major Copper smelters in China pledged to jointly cut intake of Copper concentrate as falling processing fees squeezed margins. The China Copper Smelters Purchasing Team (CSPT), a group of 13 major smelters, will cut concentrate processing rates by more than 10% next year, according to Bloomberg.”
“China’s Copper smelters posted a succession of record production figures this year despite a tightening feedstock market and the government’s campaign against industrial overcapacity and excessive competition. China’s refined Copper output has been strong despite low treatment and refining charges (TC/RC).”
“These fees earned by smelters for processing ore into metal have plunged to record lows due to a shortage of raw materials amid rapid growth in China’s smelting capacity. Spot charges have fallen as low as minus $60/t this year. Although similar pledges were made last year, they didn’t result in significant reductions in refined Copper output. This year, China has produced almost 10% more refined Copper through October.”
