China’s top copper smelters have agreed to reduce production by over 10% next year. This decision arises from the ongoing drop in treatment and refining charges (TC/RC), fees paid for processing copper ore. Declining TC/RCs, where smelters now pay premiums for raw materials, are becoming unsustainable. Last year, discussions about production cuts occurred due to industry margin pressures, but no agreement was reached, and copper production continued to increase, reaching a peak in June. The fear of supply shortages is now materialising, contributing to the rise in copper prices. On Friday, prices rose by around 2% ... (full story)