US weekly brass scrap spreads widened while prices increased in tandem with rising Comex Copper prices in a quiet market.
Comex spot copper contract closed at $4.32/lb up 7¢/lb from Aug 27, inching towards its previous month high of $4.39/lb reported on Aug 13. The official LME Zinc cash contract, however, trended flat during the same period, inching up by $1/mt to $2,984.50/mt.
The weekly Davis Index for C-200 series alloy’s copper spread widened by 1¢/lb to 12.5¢/lb under the Comex copper spot contract, while the C-200 series zinc spread, widened by 0.5¢/lb to 6¢/lb under the LME zinc cash contract.
Brass prices increased for most grades in tandem with Comex copper prices this week. Although the weekly Davis Index for 360-rod borings dropped by 0.7¢/lb to $3.043/lb delivered US consumer, brass radiators rose by 8.5¢/lb to $2.555/lb delivered, while red brass solids climbed by 7.2¢/lb to $3.33/lb delivered.
Some amount of regional variance has crept in for brass scrap, though the consensus points towards softening demand as buyers remained away from the market this week. The long Labor Day weekend has also resulted in a quiet market today, with participants expecting trade to pick up the pace next week.