The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades diverged over the week, as the Comex moved lower in a fragmented market and due to concerns over a potential resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in China. The Comex spot market closed at $3.60/lb on Tuesday, down from $3.63/lb on Jan 5.
The spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) widened by 2.2¢/lb to 17¢/lb under the January Comex contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for bare bright decreased to $3.43/lb delivered US consumer, down by 5¢/lb.
The spread for #1 copper (berry/candy) was at 23.5¢/lb under the January Comex contract, better by 2.6¢/lb with the weekly index for the grade declining by 0.5¢/lb to $3.365/lb delivered.
The spread for #2 Light copper tightened by 2.4¢/lb to 41¢/lb under the January Comex contract. The index for #2 Light remained unchanged from last week at $3.19/lb delivered US consumer.
The market was poised to pick up in the second week of the new year after the holiday break, with most buying already done for January. However, news of COVID-19 cases surging in China has given the market a pause at least until the impact of this development on the market can be determined.