Commodity trader Trafigura has agreed to provide financing for Oyu Tolgoi in exchange for a long-term deal to buy an undisclosed portion of the output, it said on Monday.Trafigura, which markets a wide range of metals including copper concentrate, referred to the off-take deal in its first fully public annual report since being set up 20 years ago. “We also provide finance in exchange for long-term supplies. For instance, we recently signed an off-take agreement with Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia,” it said, giving no further details.Rio Tinto had no immediate comment on the Trafigura deal.
Trafigura also said the global copper market is expected to be broadly in balance in 2014 as low inventories and a recovery in global growth offset stronger mine output. “We don’t expect prices to rise markedly, but on the other hand, with concentrates trading at close to cost levels for some producing areas, a collapse in prices is also unlikely,” the Trafigura report said.