US weekly brass scrap spreads were rangebound on Friday after Comex copper and LME Zinc rebounded this week following steep declines in the week of Jun 18.
Comex spot copper contract closed at $4.287/lb today, up by 12.9¢/lb from Jun 18. The spot LME zinc official cash contract inched up by $3/mt to $2,876/mt over the same period.
The weekly Davis Index for C-200 series alloy’s copper spread held unchanged at 10.5¢/lb under the Comex copper spot contract, while the C-200 series zinc spread, widened by 0.2¢/lb to 5.5¢/lb under the LME zinc cash contract. Still, some buyers are seeing tighter spreads for large loads, with offers for the C-200 series heard at spreads as narrow as 8¢/lb under Comex copper and 4¢/lb under LME Zinc cash.
Brass prices have recovered on strong sales especially in the spot market over the past week. The weekly Davis Index for 360-rod borings increased by 4.3¢/lb to $3.056/lb delivered US consumer. Brass radiators rebounded by 9.5¢/lb to $2.503/lb delivered, while red brass 85:15 increased by 10¢/lb to $3.60/lb delivered.
Prices have also been supported by exporters selling their volumes domestically following weaker export trends and higher demand from mills in the US. For example, red brass prices in the domestic market are heard to be trending at least 20-25¢/lb higher than the export market. Scrap yards supplying to the domestic market have also offloaded most of their excess inventory due to the market’s volatility and the willingness to buy from mills, which could result in some supply tightness in the near term.