The weekly Davis Index for #1 copper wire (Berry) settled at $7,508/mt cfr India port, up by $22/mt driven by the scarcity of scrap despite a drop in the three-month LME copper contract. Participants reported improvement in the demand, but imports continued to be slow due to vessels and container shortage. The spreads for #1 copper wire (Berry) tightened by 1.5pc due to scrap shortage.
The weekly Davis Index for #copper wire and tube (Berry Candy) settled at $7,274/mt from $7,189/mt cfr India port, up by $85/mt. The spreads for #copper wire and tube (Berry Candy) cfr India tightened by 2pc.
The weekly Index for #2copper Birch Cliff settled at $6,706/mt cfr India port, up by $50/mt. A few importers turned to Australia to obtain Birch Cliff at 83pc of LME. Indian participants are still analysing the effect of an import duty cut on copper scrap from 5pc to 2.5pc. This cut is expected to bring down raw material cost for secondary manufacturers in India.
Participants shared that the domestic demand has improved, and scarcity of scrap is starting to pinch despite the weakness in the three-month LME copper contact from the prior week. Copper ingot manufacturers from India and Pakistan heard new enquires from Chinese counterparts despite the ongoing Chinese Lunar New Year holidays till Feb 12. Each month, Pakistan manufacturers collectively export 10,000-11,000mt of copper ingots to China.
Pakistan and China
Exporters from Pakistan and India heard Chinese bids unchanged at 94.5 to 96.5pc of three-month LME copper contract for copper ingots cfr China port from the prior week.
LME three-month copper contract dropped by $79.5/mt to settle at $7,821/mt from $7,900.5/mt prior week.