The spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades narrowed slightly over the week as Comex bounced back from its low of $2.23/lb last week, to close at $2.38/lb on Tuesday.
The spread for US Bare Bright copper scrap (Barley) delivered US consumer tightened to 9.8¢/lb from 10.8¢/lb under the April Comex contract, on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for bare bright increased by 12.9¢/lb to $2.282/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper (Berry/Candy) narrowed to 18.5¢/lb, from 19.3¢/lb, under the April Comex contract, with the index for the grade increasing by 11.1¢/lb to $2.186/lb. The spread for #2 copper chops narrowed to 33.4¢/lb, from 34.3¢/lb under April Comex, while the index for the grade increased by 10.9¢/lb to $2.047/lb.
Copper scrap supply and demand have found a relative balance for now. Scrap supply is tight, but without much demand market participants do not expect much support for higher pricing or the spreads to tighten further.