US weekly brass scrap spreads narrowed on Friday after a fall in Comex copper and LME Zinc prices this week.
The Comex spot copper contract closed at $4.53/lb today, down by a penny from May 28, but falling by over 13¢/lb from the beginning of the week. The spot LME zinc official cash contract decreased by $90.40/mt to $2,980/mt today compared to May 28. A weaker than expected US labor report affected prices across the base metals complex over the past two days.
Apart from the fall in Comex copper and LME zinc, limited supply tightened the spreads for C-200 alloys this week. The weekly Davis Index for C-200 series alloy’s copper spread narrowed by 0.9¢/lb to 11.3¢/lb under the Comex copper spot contract, while the C-200 series zinc spread, tightened by 0.2¢/lb to 5.7¢/lb under the LME zinc cash contract.
Buyers are finding it hard to procure material as brass scrap is moving quickly out of the yards. Moreover, scrapyards are wary of keeping inventories for too long over concerns that prices could move higher, which may take buyers out of the market. Some of the large smelters are expected to shut down for maintenance over the summer which could further affect scrap flows going into July.
Transaction prices bore the brunt of the drops in Comex and LME this week with the weekly Davis Index for 360-rod borings dropping by 8.4¢/lb to $3.08/lb delivered US consumer. Brass radiators declined by 9¢/lb to $2.50/lb delivered, while red brass 85:15 decreased by 7¢/lb to $3.56/lb delivered.