The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades widened for most grades over the week, as the Comex market peaked for the year.
The Comex spot market reached its highest point since March 2013, closing at $3.49/lb on Tuesday, up from $3.47/lb on Dec 1.
The spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) delivered US consumer widened by 0.3¢/lb to 18¢/lb under the December Comex contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for bare bright increased to $3.33/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper (berry/candy) was wider at 28.7¢/lb, worse by 0.2¢/lb under the December Comex contract, with the weekly index for the grade was rose to $3.223/lb.
The spread for #2 Light copper was flat from last week at 44¢/lb, under the November Comex contract while the pricing for the grade indexed at 3.07/lb delivered.
Market participants have pushed buying off spreads into the first quarter of next year, with the next active month being March for the time being. The financial and physical markets continue to diverge, which has caused the spread to widen further on some grades.