Copper rises after Antofagasta, Chinese smelter agree on zero 2026 processing fee Dec

Copper rose on Monday after Chilean miner Antofagasta and a Chinese smelter agreed on a zero processing fee for 2026 copper concentrate.

The most active copper contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.36% to 93,980 yuan ($13,348.48) per metric ton as of 0145 GMT.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Futures Exchange also gained, up 0.33% to $11,920.5 a ton.

The 2026 copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) is at the lowest level ever agreed in annual supply talks.

The deal followed an agreement by China’s top smelters to slash output next year to counter falling processing fees, even as a state-backed nonferrous industry body said charges should stay above zero, signalling a structurally tight copper concentrate market.

Outages at key mines, including Freeport’s Grasberg in Indonesia and Kamoa-Kakula in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have kept spot TC/RCs below zero in 2025, forcing smelters to pay miners.

Elsewhere, China on Monday kept the benchmark loan prime rates (LPRs) unchanged, in line with market expectations.

Among other SHFE base metals, nickel rose for a fourth straight session, up 2.48% at 118,860 yuan a ton after touching a more than one-month high of 119,480 yuan.

The London benchmark nickel also gained, up 1.13% to $14,970 a ton.

Nickel’s rally continued to find support after miner association in Indonesia, the biggest nickel producing country, said last week that the country will slash mine output in 2026.

In Shanghai, aluminium rose 0.79%, zinc added 0.20%, lead was up 0.50%, and tin gained 0.75%.

Among other LME metals, aluminium nudged 0.17% higher, zinc was up 0.15%, lead dropped 0.25% while tin dipped 0.19%.