We are just weeks away from the ILZSG meeting and LME Week, and miners and smelters have been busy preparing their budgets and establishing their individual projections for next year's concentrate market. All parties acknowledge that the market for zinc concentrate has softened significantly and we know of no one who believes that terms will move in favour of smelters. After all, even though they have slipped a little recently, realised spot TCs have increased by up to 200 dollars/t during the last twelve months. And for the first time in six years, smelters are in the stronger position. Although we have drawn scorn for arguing that miners have not been as aggressive in recent years as they could have been (e.g. by attempting to secure a cut in smelters' price participation), we now wonder how aggressive smelters will be in the negotiation of annual contract terms for 2008 now that the market has turned.
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