US weekly brass scrap spreads tightened on Friday after the Comex copper market fell by more than 13¢/lb over the week and the LME Zinc market remained rangebound.
The weekly Davis Index for C-200 series alloy’s copper spread tightened by a penny to 12.7¢/lb under the Comex copper spot contract. The C-200 series zinc spread, also tightened by 0.5¢/lb to 6.7¢/lb under the LME zinc cash contract.
Like copper, the demand for brass is weak with some buyers planning to enter the market only in May, participants noted. The export market is also subdued with traders in countries like India preferring to clear inventory due to the financial year-end before purchasing more material. Still, supply for brass grades such as red brass remains tight compared to others.
The weekly Davis Index for 360-rod borings increased by 3¢/lb to $2.90/lb delivered US consumer and brass radiators remained unchanged at $2.09/lb delivered after falling by 7.5¢/lb in the previous week. The index for Red Brass solids, moved up by 2.3¢/lb to $2.882/lb delivered.
The Comex spot copper contract settled at $3.985/lb on Friday, down by 13.3¢/lb from a week ago. The spot LME zinc official contract increased by $20.50/mt from Mar 19 to close at $2808/mt on Friday.