US copper scrap exports fell by almost 50pc in March from a year earlier amid COVID-19 related lockdowns across the world. Copper imports fell by 30.3pc during the same period, according to the latest trade data from the US Census Bureau.
Scrap exports for March declined to 41,608mt in March from 82,795mt during the same month last year. Scrap exports for the first three months of the year totaled 166,555mt, down by 26pc from the same period last year.
China remained the top importer of US copper scrap, despite COVID-19 related shutdowns in March with 5,348mt of scrap exported to the Asian country in March. South Korea followed with 2,436mt of copper scrap exported to the country from the US. Among European countries, US copper exports to Belgium rose during the month to 2,265mt while Germany imported 1,776mt of copper scrap from the US.
Total bare bright copper scrap exports rose by 19pc to 6,086mt in March from a year earlier while exports of #1 copper fell by 32pc to 5,592mt and #2 copper exports fell by 26pc to 7,897mt. Other copper scrap exports fell by 96pc to 1,239mt in March from a year earlier.
Refined copper scrap fell by 4.2pc to 14,496mt in March compared to the same month last year, while red brass and yellow brass scrap declined by 47pc and 43pc to 1,468mt and 3,131mt, respectively, during the same period under comparison.
US copper scrap imports in March were down by 30pc at 7,464mt from 10,704mt a year earlier. Year-to-date imports fell by 27pc to 21,199mt from 29,041mt during the first three months of 2019.