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China's overcapacity crackdown reaches copper, but market impact unlikely
hina's decision to shelve a series of planned copper smelters is unlikely to have an impact on historically tight markets unless it is followed by more measures to curb output in the world's largest refined copper producer, industry insiders said. The relentless growth of Chinese smelting capacity has increased global competition for copper concentrate feedstock at a time when stretched supplies have become scarcer still due to mine disruptions. Fees paid to process copper, known as treatment and refining charges, have fallen to historic negative levels. In a nod to the bind facing Chinese smelters amid annual ... (full story)