India’s weekly domestic brass prices dropped by Rs1,000-Rs6,500/mt ($14-$91.26/mt) del India consumer on Wednesday. Producers cited fewer brass ingot bookings from China coupled with adequate supply of brass scrap as reasons for the price drop. The three-month official LME copper contract also dropped by $94/mt Tuesday, from a week ago.
The Davis Index for domestic Honey settled at Rs300,000/mt del Jamnagar consumer on Wednesday, down by Rs5,000/mt from a week ago. The Davis Index for Honey imported settled at Rs288,000/mt del Jamnagar consumer, down by Rs6,500/mt from a week ago. Prices dropped on a slowdown in China’s orders for brass ingots ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays. Orders also dropped as Chinese producers currently have access to larger volumes of brass scrap in the first quarter of 2020.
The Davis Index for domestic Honey settled at Rs313,000/mt del Delhi consumer on Wednesday, down by Rs1,000/mt from a week ago, while the Davis Index for Honey imported settled at Rs303,000/mt del Delhi consumer, down by Rs3,000/mt from a week ago; both on flat domestic demand for brass scrap and higher demand for copper scrap from the prior week.
Indian brass billet and ingot manufacturers are cautious about increasing smelting capacity, as new standards for imports of high-grade brass scrap into China were announced on Sunday. This will be implemented starting July. Producers expect to get a better understanding of China’s demand for semi-finished brass products in the beginning of February, post the new year’s break.
($ 1 = Rs71.22)