The premium for Grade A copper cathode cif Shanghai widened on both ends of the range on Thursday March 7 after availability of high quality Chilean brand electro-refined (ER) copper cathodes tightened while demand for other brands of ER and solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) cathodes continued to be subdued in China.
Fastmarkets assessed the cif Shanghai premium at $45-65 per tonne on Thursday, from $47-62 per tonne on Wednesday. The high end of the range normally represents the premium for Chilean ER brands, CCCP and ENM. The low end of the range normally represents the premium of SX-EW cargoes. The premium reached its lowest level since May 2017 when it dipped to $47-62 per tonne on Tuesday. Chuqicamata cathode out of market since December The high end of the range was driven up by tightness of Chilean cathode. Codelco has faced delays in returning its Chuquicamata refined smelter in Chile to full capacity after it reduced operating rates in late 2018 due to a technical fault at the Teniente copper converter
