The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap tightened on Tuesday following a drop in Comex copper prices and buyers returning to the market hoping to benefit from lower prices.
Comex copper closed today at $4.24/lb slipping further by 10¢/lb from Jun 15 amid rising uncertainty and a strengthening US dollar.
The Davis Index spread for #1 copper wire & tube narrowed by 0.9¢/lb to 23.4¢/lb under the June Comex contract, with the grade’s weekly transaction price falling by 10¢/lb to $4.01/lb delivered.
Spreads for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 1¢/lb to 13.7¢/lb under the June Comex contract on Tuesday, with its transaction price declining by 10¢/lb to $4.10/lb delivered US consumer.
For #2 light copper, the spread narrowed by 1.8¢/lb to 62¢/lb under the June Comex contract while the transaction price for #2 light decreased by 9¢/lb to $3.62/lb delivered US consumer.
Demand has strengthened after the drop in prices last week with mills searching for loads despite the tighter spreads. Sentiment is mixed among sellers with some anticipating higher sales on strong demand while others remain wary about selling in a low market, preferring to wait until prices improve. Some yards are likely to offload their old inventory and buy more volumes at the current prices to sell once the market corrects up. That said, freight continues to remain a challenge for mills and scrapyards as the higher costs related to transportation are getting more difficult to factor into quotes.