Softer Supply Pressure Drags on Copper Price -- Market Talk

While copper is down on profit-taking, there is also a broader context of growing supply. "It appears that China has aggressive plans for smelting capacity expansion this year," Julius Baer's Carsten Menke says. "That, plus Tongling's deal with Freeport for lower treatment charges than last year" were driving copper selling, he adds. Number one Chinese copper smelter Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group and Freeport-McMoRan agreed to a treatment and refining charge--TC/RCs--2018 price of $82.25 a ton last week, Reuters reported. TC/RCs are a factor in the cost of refined copper production. Looser supply out of South America also dragged on prices. Chile's National Statistics Institute reported late last year that the country's copper production rose 4.8% year-on-year in November, Commerzbank analysts said in a note. (david.hodari@wsj.com; @davidhodari)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 03, 2018 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)