Proposal to amend specifications of Fastmarkets US copper cathode premium and all-in price

Fastmarkets proposes to clarify and change some of the specifications for its US copper grade 1 cathode premium and all-in price assessments, including the quality, unit and location.

Following an initial consultation with the market, Fastmarkets is proposing to: 

  • Update the quality of the all-in price to include both specifications from the London Metal Exchange and American Society for Testing and Materials, matching the current quality specifications listed under the copper cathode premium 
  • Update the location of both assessments to “ddp US Midwest” 
  • Change the unit of both assessments to “US cents per pound” 

The new specifications would be as follows, with amendments in italics:

MB-CU-0002 Copper grade 1 cathode premium, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb 
Quality: Grade A 99.9935% min copper cathode conforming to LME specifications BS EN 1978:2022 – Cu-CATH-1 or Grade 1 Electrolytic Copper Cathode ATSM B1115-10 
Quantity: Min 25 tonnes
Location: ddp US Midwest
Timing: Within 4 weeks
Unit: US cents per pound 
Payment terms: 30 days, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Weekly. Tuesday 3-4pm London time

MB-CU-0309 Copper grade 1 cathode all-in price, ddp Midwest US, US cents/lb 
Quality: Grade A 99.9935% min copper cathode conforming to LME specifications BS EN 1978:2022 – Cu-CATH-1 or Grade 1 Electrolytic Copper Cathode ATSM B1115-10
Quantity: Min 25 tonnes
Location: ddp US Midwest
Timing: Within 4 weeks
Unit: US cents per pound 
Payment terms: 30 days, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Weekly. Tuesday 3-4pm London time

These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets base metals package.

The consultation period for this proposed amendment starts from June 13 and will end on July 14. The amendment will then take place, subject to market feedback, on July 15.

To provide feedback on the proposal, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, please email pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Rae Boyadjis, re: US Copper prices”.

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

What to read next
Fastmarkets has launched three weekly wheat freight rate assessments — Ukraine-Egypt, CVB-Egypt and Russia-Saudi Arabia — and has clarified that its existing Black Sea-North Africa freight assessment refers to the Russia-Egypt route and its Black Sea-Persian Gulf assessment refers to the Russia-Iran route. The Russia-Egypt assessment will also transition from Supramax to Handy-sized vessels. All changes are effective Wednesday May 20, 2026.
Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer, with consumption surpassing 20 million tonnes per year and a persistent structural import gap of approximately 10-13 million tpy despite initiatives to boost domestic production. Egypt also serves as a principal market for Black Sea suppliers, including Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria. Until 2025, there was an established […]
Fastmarkets changed the timestamp for its daily used cooking oil flexi-tank, fob China and used cooking oil, bulk, fob China price assessments from 4:30pm London time to 4:30pm Singapore time effective Wednesday May 20, 2026, as a result of an open consultation.
The proposal follows Fastmarkets’ observations that the commodity sees inactive spot liquidity and low volatility in prices. The proposed new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendments in italics: MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea, $/tonneQuality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% […]
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest for Tuesday May 19 was published earlier than scheduled due to an error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
The four assessments will cover continental Europe and the UK, for tissue jumbo rolls made from wood pulp and recycled pulp in a basis weight range of 14.5-18.0g per square meter. The decision follows a one-month consultation period that ended on Saturday May 16. The proposed specifications are as follows: FP-TS-0009 Tissue, wood pulp jumbo rolls for […]