Bloomberg reported that the premium that copper buyers are expected to pay in Europe climbed in the past month amid limited availability of the metal. People who trade the market said that the surcharge in Rotterdam is about USD 115 per tonne based on the median of midpoints from ranges given by the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. That compares with USD 105 last month and USD 90 at the end of April. The fee is added to the price of copper cathode, a form of refined metal for immediate delivery on the London Metal Exchange. It includes insurance and costs to ship to Rotterdam. Premiums ranged from USD 100 per tonne to USD 130 per tonne compared with USD 80 to USD 125 last month. One person put the range at USD 110 to USD 120 and another at USD 120 to USD 130. One person gave a single figure of USD 100 and another said USD 115. The people said that producers in the region are sold out for this month and supplies are limited. They cited curbed availability of scrap as one reason for the higher premiums. Warehouse companies are paying incentives to attract metal to their sheds, further supporting premiums. According to three traders said that buyers are being asked to pay a premium of about USD 135 per tonne for copper warrants, certificates giving the bearer ownership of metal stored in LME approved warehouses in Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port. That’s based on the median of midpoints from the ranges and compares with USD 80 to USD 85 in March and USD 65 to USD 70 in February.

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