The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap were rangebound on Tuesday as domestic demand softened and spot deals diminished.
Comex copper closed today at $4.27/lb, down 3¢/lb from Jul 13. The fall restricted some spot deals with hesitancy creeping in among traders.
The Davis Index spread for #1 copper wire & tube tightened by 0.5¢/lb to 23.7¢/lb under the July Comex contract, with the grade’s weekly transaction price dropping by 2.4¢/lb to $4.033/lb delivered.
Spreads for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 0.2¢/lb to 15.7¢/lb under the July Comex contract on Tuesday, with its transaction price falling by 2.7¢/lb to $4.115/lb delivered US consumer.
For #2 light copper too, the spread tightened by 2.2¢/lb to 60.7¢/lb under the July Comex contract on higher demand for the grade in the export market, where #2 Light was being offered at spreads as tight as 55.5¢/lb under the Comex contract. The transaction price for #2 light fell by 0.7¢/lb to $3.663/lb delivered US consumer.
Most mills are done buying copper for July and are unlikely to return to the market before next month. Moreover, labor shortages continue to pose a challenge at copper mills which have had to restrict their production capacity because of the issue.
That said, participants are optimistic about the infrastructure bill that is expected to be finalized this week and anticipate demand to rise in tandem. On the other hand, all industries including scrap, are keeping a close watch on the rising COVID-19 cases across the country to determine if they would change the overall economic outlook and impact.