The world's largest copper producer, Codelco Chile, has hiked its 2011 copper premium for buyers in China, 35 percent, signaling expectations that demand from commodity-hungry Asian giant will remain strong.
Analysts expect a shortage of copper next year, a factor in the metal on to new all-time high 11th November has helped. The premium for buyers in China, the surplus for buyers from South Korea and Japan.
Codelco has offered to Chinese customers a premium of $ 115 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange copper prices in 2011, compared with $ 85 in this year, said Santiago-based trader with knowledge of the talks and copper sources in China on Monday.
"We are 115 $ per ton of Codelco offered," said a source buyers.
Codelco executives were in talks with Chinese buyers in Beijing on Monday and hold further talks on Tuesday in Shanghai, said sources of copper.
The premium, if settled, would be the highest since 2007, Reuters data show to be.
An official at Codelco Santiago was not immediately available for comment.
The hike in the Chinese buyers came after Codelco has more premium Japanese and South Korean buyers increased by 31 percent over the previous year to $ 98 per tonne in 2011.
"Codelco eyes a strong demand in Europe next year. He agreed that the European sales increase to 300,000 tons next year," said a customer in China Codelco.
"We think the premium is high. We may consider cutting the annual amounts slightly Codelco to offer no special conditions," said the source, who would later meet with Codelco.
But analysts Chinese buyers were not in the best position to negotiate for a lower price because China has a copper deficiency and investors are interested in importing the metal next year.
"Chinese buyers have little bargaining power", said Fang Junfeng, an analyst at Shanghai Futures CIFCO.
"Everyone is optimistic about the market next year. Imported copper to increase from January, after the current silence we experience a consequence of energy-saving pressure. Time is not on the Chinese buyers."
Dealers said traders and investors in China Codelco would accept the offer premium, as they wanted to secure.
But turning to retail buyers import goods for export to other origins, because high premiums would eat into their profits from the recognition of the costs, they said.
Chinese buyers have agreed to annual premiums of $ 100 or less pay for refined copper from Japan next year, said buyers.