Date: Sep 24, 2018
Metal Bulletin rounds up some of the key news and price moves across the global metal markets this week.
Base metals
The 10 largest copper smelters in China set the fourth-quarter base price for treatment charges and refining charges (TC/RCs) at $90 per tonne/9 cents per lb on Friday September 21, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Metal Bulletin.
South Korea’s state-run Public Procurement Service (PPS) purchased 2,000 tonnes of grade-A copper cathode through a tender that closed on Thursday. It has also floated a tender to procure 1,000 tonnes of special-high-grade zinc.
Ferro-nickel has lost competitiveness against stainless steel scrap and nickel pig iron (NPI) as a raw material input for stainless steel, according to Frank Ehrenberg, senior vp for raw materials procurement at Finnish steelmaker Outokumpu.
Benchmark alumina prices have fallen steeply for the first time since May after several cargoes reportedly traded at lower levels.
