The weekly indexes for most of the domestic brass scrap grades dropped in Delhi but gained in Jamnagar. The three-month LME copper contract gained $79.5/mt from the prior week to settle at $8,965.5/mt on March 16. Participants preferred to lower the prices in Delhi to avoid losses if the copper contract drops again.
Demand was subdued in Jamnagar and North India. Imports continue to remain. Market participants reported unavailability of cleaner imported scrap material because of the lockdowns in the US and the UK due to surge in COVID -19 cases. Scrap with a greater percentage of attachment was easily available in domestic market though.
Trading thinned in Jamnagar for both, domestic buyers as well as Chinese bidders.
A few Chinese bids for brass billets rose to $5,600/mt from $5,400/mt cfr China port, up by $200/mt from the prior week. Jamnagar exports 2,000mt of brass ingots to China per month. Exporters of brass billets shared that bids are slow, and very few participants are interested in striking the deal given the volatility of the international market driven by the three-month LME copper contract.
The weekly Davis Index for imported Honey brass settled Rs393,000/mt del Delhi consumer, down by Rs5,000/mt ($68.93/mt) while in Jamnagar, it settled at Rs408,125/mt del consumer, up by Rs2,250/mt ($31.02/mt).
The weekly Davis Index for Honey domestic origin (Purja) settled at Rs380,000/mt, down by Rs3,000($41.36/mt). The weekly Davis Index for Honey domestic origin (Vilayati) del Jamnagar consumer settled at Rs382,500/mt, registering a rise of Rs625/mt ($8.61/mt).
($1=Rs72.53)