Proposal to increase frequency of Shanghai equivalent-grade copper cathode premium

Fastmarkets, which currently assesses the premium every Tuesday, proposes to publish the Shanghai EQ copper cathode premium every Tuesday and Friday.

Fastmarkets began to track the Shanghai EQ copper cathode market in November 2019, and increased its assessment frequency from fortnightly to weekly in July 2023 following increased market interest.

This proposal to increase the pricing frequency to twice weekly will bring more market transparency amid continually rising demand and increased spot liquidity.

The proposed specifications for the premium will be as follows (proposed change in italics):

MB-CU-0412 Copper EQ cathode premium, cif Shanghai, $/tonne
Quality: 99.9935% min copper conforming to LME specifications; Ag: 0.0025% max, As: 0.0005% max, Bi: 0.00020% max,Fe: 0.0010% max, Pb: 0.0005% max, S:0.0015% max, Se: 0.00020% max, Te:0.00020% max
Quantity: Min 25 tonnes
Location: cif Shanghai
Timing: Within 6 weeks
Unit: USD per tonne
Payment terms: LC, TT or DP other payments normalized to cash
Publication: Twice weekly. Tuesday and Friday 4pm London time
Note: Non-exchange deliverable units

The consultation period for this proposed amendment starts on Thursday August 1 and concludes on Thursday August 29.

The proposed increase in frequency will take place from Tuesday September 3, subject to the outcome of this consultation.

This price is part of the Fastmarkets base metals package.

To provide feedback on this consultation, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the Shanghai EQ copper cathode premium, please contact Sally Zhang by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Sally Zhang, re: Shanghai EQ premium.’

To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.