The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades remained under pressure over the past week, amid a rise in Comex copper prices and waning supply.
The Comex copper spot market approached its annual high of $3.74/lb, last seen in January, and closed at $3.73/lb on Tuesday, surging by almost 20¢/lb from Feb 2.
The Davis Index spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 1.2¢/lb to 14.9¢/lb under the February Comex contract on Tuesday, sending the transaction price for bare bright soaring by 19¢/lb to $3.569/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper wire & tube was at 23.3¢/lb under the February Comex contract, widening by 0.6¢/lb, with the weekly transaction price for the grade rising by 15¢/lb to $3.46/lb delivered.
The spread for #2 Light copper widened by 4.4¢/lb to 48.6¢/lb under the February Comex contract while the transaction price increased by 17.1¢/lb to $3.269/lb delivered US consumer.
Extreme weather conditions across the Northeast and Central US are weighing on the supply of domestic copper scrap. A dearth in demand from consumers who are pushing their buying into the next quarter is also causing spreads to widen.