2014 Likely to Bring Higher Smelter Fees for Zinc Companies

Bloomberg reported that according to a survey it completed, the fees that zinc companies must pay to smelters are likely to rise 4.5 percent in 2014.

As quoted in the market news:

The benchmark treatment charge may climb to about $220 a metric ton, based on a zinc price of $2,000 a ton, according to the average estimate of 10 respondents surveyed at the conference in Dana Point, California. The fees were $210.50 last year on a price of $2,000.

Supply will exceed demand by 132,000 tons this year, before rising consumption and slowing production-growth push the market into deficit in 2015, according to a Feb. 12 report from Barclays Plc. The fees to refine semi-processed ore, also known as concentrate, generally climb when supplies of ore increase because miners are competing for limited smelting capacity.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.