China’s copper scrap #1 wire and tube import price rose by $219/mt on Thursday from a week ago, on higher quota allowance for scrap imports in the first quarter of 2020.
The Davis index for #1 wire and tube settled at $5,935/mt cfr China port on Thursday, up from $5,716/mt a week ago. China faced a shortage of copper scrap in the last quarter of 2019, as the government issued stricter import quotas. The orders from China have picked up again, after the country announced first batch of increased quotas for 2020. The Chinese government’s sanction for 270,885mt of copper scrap imports into China for the first quarter, has provided a respite to copper smelters and manufacturers.
The Davis index for #2 copper went up by $60/mt cfr China, from a week ago and settled at $5,441/mt on Thursday.
Demand for copper ingots remained steady from China’s copper smelters. The Davis index for copper ingots settled at $5,908/mt cfr China on Thursday, down by $20/mt from a week ago. The Davis index for brass ingots remained unchanged at $4,150/mt from a week ago.
The Davis index for #1 copper chops rose by $18/mt and #2 copper chops rose by $26/mt, and settled at $5,812/mt and $5,379/mt cfr Asia port, respectively.
The three-month LME copper official contract settled at $6,183/mt on Tuesday, down by $30/mt from last Tuesday.