Codelco raises 2023 copper premium offer to Chinese clients by 33%, sources

The new premium – which is charged on top of the London Metal Exchange copper price – is an increase of approximately 33.33% from the company’s $105-per-tonne premium for its 2022 copper supply.

Codelco was unreachable for comment at the time of publication.

This premium increase follows the mid-October hike, in which Codelco raised its 2023 premium offer to European clients by approximately 80% year on year.

China’s import appetite for copper cathodes has been subdued over the past two weeks, despite an early-October surge as a result of improved import profits, which drove the spot premium to an all-time high.

Fastmarkets’ daily benchmark for copper grade A cathode premium, cif Shanghai was at $120-145 per tonne on November 4, compared with the record high of $115-150 per tonne on October 20.