In a bid to cope with a raw materials shortage and underperforming plants, top copper smelters in China collectively agreed to cut production in a Beijing meeting this week. Sources with personal knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the amount of cutbacks will rely on each smelter’s individual assessments, as no specific rates or volumes have been imposed. The news spurred copper prices upward, with the cash contract on the London Metal Exchange closing Friday (March 15) at US$8,790 per metric ton (MT) after beginning the week at the US$8,520 level. The increase of just over 3 percent took prices for the base metal to heights not seen since last April. China is the world’s leading refined copper producer and consumer, and its smelters are facing a critical situation, with treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) having reached single figures. TC/RCs are the fees miners pay smelters to convert copper…
