The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades widened amid an inactive market and a slide in Comex copper prices.
The Comex copper spot market settled at $4.12/lb on Tuesday after reaching highs of $4.18/lb on Feb 25. Still, it closed 3¢/lb higher from $4.09/lb on Feb 23.
The Davis Index spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) widened by a penny to 16.7¢/lb under the March Comex contract on Tuesday, raising the transaction price for bare bright by 2¢/lb to $3.953/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper wire & tube was at 27.7¢/lb under the March Comex contract, wider by 2.3¢/lb, with the weekly transaction price for the grade unchanged at $3.84/lb delivered.
The spread for #2 Light copper widened by 0.5¢/lb to 49¢/lb under the March Comex contract while the transaction price increased by 3¢/lb to $3.63/lb delivered US consumer.
Activity in the US domestic copper scrap market may remain slow over the next couple of weeks with most buyers looking for material on an as-needed basis. Still, market participants expect a robust market by the beginning of Q2 2020 with active trading resuming in mid-March.