Metal Bulletin has launched an index for copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) on a cif Asia-Pacific ports basis.
The index, the first such price in the copper concentrates market, will be published twice every calendar month, on the 15th and last day of each month, or the closest preceding day in the event that such dates fall on a weekend or a UK public holiday.
The TC/RC index was published for the first time on Friday March 14 2014, after more than a year of research and consultation with the industry, at a value of $91.88 per dry metric tonne/9.188 cents per lb. This compares with $65.52/6.552 cents on June 15 2013.
Metal Bulletin intends the index to be a fair and representative price for TC/RCs based on a clear specification, and backed by a robust methodology.
“Copper TC/RCs reflect the balance of supply and demand for copper concentrates, and are the first point in the copper production chain that value can be captured. As such, we think the copper concentrates TC/RC index will be a useful tool for the copper market,” Metal Bulletin editor Alex Harrison said.
As well as its specialist journalists, Metal Bulletin used the expertise of its separate index team, which has wide experience of creating indexes for use by the metal and steel markets, in order to bring this price to the market.
“Our staff in Asia, Europe and Latin America have talked extensively with copper miners, traders and smelters in order to design the methodology and index, which we believe will be followed closely by the market,” Metal Bulletin md Raju Daswani said.
The TC component of the index is calculated on a dollar per dry metric tonne basis, and the RC component as US cents per lb, both on a cif Asia-Pacific ports basis.
For full details of the specification, click here.
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For a market report on the launch date of the price, click here.