The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap widened on Tuesday following a sluggish Comex copper market.
Comex copper closed today at $4.2985/lb up by 3.1¢/lb from Jul 6. Most consumers are done with their buys for July which has resulted in a quiet market, but many have begun to look into August to lock in some loads.
The Davis Index spread for #1 copper wire & tube widened by 0.7¢/lb to 24.2¢/lb under the July Comex contract, with the grade’s weekly transaction price rising by 2.4¢/lb to $4.057/lb delivered.
Spreads for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) widened by 1.2¢/lb to 15.7¢/lb under the July Comex contract on Tuesday, with its transaction price rising by 1.9¢/lb to $4.142/lb delivered US consumer.
For #2 light copper too, the spread widened by 0.2¢/lb to 62.9¢/lb under the July Comex contract while the transaction price for #2 light increased by 2.9¢/lb to $3.670/lb delivered US consumer.
Many participants are seeing a good supply in the market but slow demand mainly because of maintenance shut-downs and vacations in the summer months. Dealer-level spreads appear to be tightening up a bit as a few big yards are lagging on orders, this is likely to keep market movements strong in the medium term.