Weekly spreads for US domestic copper tightened slightly on stable supply and demand as well as a declining Comex copper market.
The Davis Index spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 3.1¢/lb to 14.7¢/lb under the April Comex contract on Tuesday, with the transaction price for this grade dropping by 5.6¢/lb to $3.895/lb delivered US consumer.
For #1 copper wire & tube, the spread tightened by 2¢/lb to 23.6¢/lb under the April Comex contract, with its weekly transaction price falling by 6.6¢/lb to $3.805/lb delivered. The spread for #2 light copper trended flat, tightening by 0.3¢/lb to 51.2¢/lb under the April Comex contract while the transaction price for #2 light decreased by 8¢/lb to $3.53/lb delivered US consumer.
The Comex copper spot market, which had soared by 14.4¢/lb from the end of March to $4.127/lb on Apr 6, declined by 8.6¢/lb over the week and settled at $4.040/lb today.
Copper scrap spreads are tightening for grades where demand is outpacing supply and have trended flat for those experiencing weaker demand in the US domestic scrap market.
Copper scrap supply is also varying by region. In the Midwest, for example, the rise of COVID-19 infections had a significant impact on business over the last week with buyers postponing their purchasing activity due to a shortage of labor at scrapyards and mills leading to ample availability of scrap. However, regions such as the Northeast and the South were able to achieve a balance in supply and demand, which is expected to remain in the near term.