Europe's biggest copper smelter Aurubis will charge its European customers a premium of $228/t above the benchmark London Metal Exchange (LME) price in 2023, the company said on Thursday.
That is sharply up from a premium of $123/t in 2022.
An Aurubis spokesman told Reuters the reasons for the higher premium included expectations of strong copper demand, low inventories, and high costs for energy and transport.
Industry sources say consumers shunning metal from Russia is part of the reason for the boost in demand for metal from other sources.
Russia in 2021 supplied the European Union with nearly 292 000 t of copper, according to data from Trade Data Monitor, which showed EU copper imports totalling more than 801 000 t last year.
"The good demand for refined copper is expected to continue in 2023 and, in combination with the very low inventory situation on all three exchanges, this is indicating a continuous tight market for 2023,” added Michael Hellemann Soerensen, senior vice president commercial at Aurubis.
"Due to the sharply increasing production costs and very high freight charges, in combination with the expected good demand for refined copper and a tight market in 2023, Aurubis decided to increase the Aurubis copper premium by $105 a tonne."
The new premium is valid from January 1, 2023, until the end of the year for deliveries in Europe, he said.
Analysts and traders said on September 30 that the copper spot premium in top consumer China could stay elevated in the next few months as demand for the metal has improved on the back of government stimulus.