Copper metal price on January 13: extending the increase

The most traded copper in February on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.8%

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.1% at $9,090 a tonne after hitting its highest since Dec. 12 at $9,145.

The most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.8% to 75,270 yuan ($10,264.73) a tonne.

Industry sources have forecast much lower than the 2024 benchmark of $80/tonne. In fact, the last time the annual benchmark fell below $50/tonne was in 2010.

Chile's state-run copper commission Cochilco previously said it expected supply to tighten by 3.4% this year, which would send TC/RC down further.

Copper smelters typically place most of their copper concentrate supplies under annual supply contracts with their suppliers at a fixed quantity.

In response to the sharp annual decline in TC/RC, copper smelters are expected to adopt a more diversified and flexible approach when signing annual contracts for 2025 supply, according to Fastmarkets.

Amid continued tight supply, Chinese copper smelters have been encouraged to use more intermediate products, including blister and anode copper, and scrap copper for their copper production, Fastmarkets also said.

These copper smelters increased their use of copper scrap and intermediate products in June-August following ample supplies and reasonable prices of these materials, sources told Fastmarkets.

However, there are still doubts among market participants about supporting production for copper smelters in 2025 due to market uncertainty about increasing supply of copper scrap and intermediate products, they added.

With fierce competition in the raw material market and sluggish demand for refined copper, copper smelters will become more sensitive and vulnerable to profits from by-products, such as sulfuric acid, and recovered metals, including gold, silver and other minor metals, Fastmarkets said.

Sulfuric acid, a byproduct of copper smelting, is a major source of income for copper smelters, and high sulfuric acid prices for much of 2024 have given Chinese copper smelters some breathing room as spot copper concentrate TC/RCs collapse.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/gia-kim-loai-dong-ngay-13-1-mo-rong-muc-tang.html