The weekly Davis Index for #1 copper wire (Berry) settled at $7,572/mt, down by $149/mt from $7,721/mt, cfr India port driven by the drop in the three-month LME copper contract. Imports slowed as importers struggled with vessel and container availability, in addition to winter in the Northern hemisphere.
The weekly Davis Index for #copper wire and tube (Berry Candy) settled $7,253/mt cfr India port, down by $103/mt. The spreads for #copper wire and tube (Berry Candy) cfr India tightened from 90-91pc to 91pc amidst rising Chinese demand for cleaner scrap.
The weekly Index for #2 copper Birch Cliff slid by $72/mt to $6,715/mt cfr India port Importers turned to Australia to obtain Birch Cliff at 82pc of LME.
Participants are unsure about price direction. Due to volatility in the three-month copper contract on LME, traders in South East Asia avoided buying surplus scrap. Exporters struggled to meet inspection standards in China. Consequently, copper ingot exporters reported no change in the Chinese offers despite China allowing high-grade copper scrap imports.
Pakistan and China
Exporters from Pakistan and India heard the Chinese bids at $94-96pc of LME for copper ingots.
LME three-month copper contract dropped by $157/mt to settle at $7,970.5/mt from $8,127.5/mt prior week.