Copper scrap prices in India rose despite a lull in demand due to a shortage of scrap in the domestic market. The weekly Davis Index for Copper armature wire Thursday rose by Rs3,250/mt ($43.26/mt) to Rs448,500/mt del India consumer as buyers struggled with a shortage of scrap.
The weekly Davis Index for Copper berry rose by Rs4,750/mt to Rs477,000/mt del India consumer driven by a spike in LME prices. The three-month LME copper rose to $6,448/mt up by $69/mt from $6,379/mt on prior Wednesday.
Demand for copper scrap has slowed from the beginning of August with a drop in demand from downstream industries, said traders. Copper-based manufacturers have received fewer new orders this month. Buyers actively bought scrap since June to fulfil their pre-lockdown orders, however, since August there is a lull in the market. Also, due to a rise in imported copper scrap prices, the manufacturers and traders have adopted a wait-and-watch approach as they are not sure if LME three-month contract would continue to remain high. Few traders expect scrap demand to return in September downstream industries ramp up production activities.
The Davis Index for copper heavy settled at Rs461,250/mt, up by Rs2,000/mt from the prior week. The Davis Index for copper sheet cuttings rose by Rs20,333/mt to Rs462,333/mt del India consumer from the prior week.
The weekly Davis Index for copper turnings settled unchanged at Rs432,000/mt and the index for copper utensils settled at 437,000/mt del India consumer amid a shortage of scrap.
($1= Rs75.11)