SHANGHAI, Jan 9 (SMM) – As the Chinese New Year approaches, trades in the spot blister copper market as a whole have been subdued. In December 2022, the Christmas holidays reduced the work efficiency of market participants, and traders of imported blister copper focused on negotiations of long-term contracts, leaving scarce spot cargoes for sale. In December 2022, refining charges (RCs) of both domestic and imported blister copper were stable.
However, RCs rose on January 6, 2023, varying across different regions. SMM reported the average RC of blister copper in south China stood at 750 yuan/mt, an increase of 50 yuan/mt from a week earlier. The average RC of imported blister copper stood at $125/mt cif, up $20/mt. The average RC of blister copper in north China stabilised at $950 yuan/mt.
Traders of imported blister copper focused on long-term contracts negotiations in December 2022 when domestic smelters began restocking. Ample inventories at smelters in the first week of 2023 pushed up RCs of imported blister copper. In terms of region, copper smelters in north China use blister copper produced from copper ore, which secures stable production and supply of blister copper. In south China, most copper smelters use blister copper produced from scrap, and this leads to bid volatility of production and raw material supply for blister copper, translating to great changes in RCs.
