The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap tightened on Tuesday following anticipation of demand picking up pace and a rangebound Comex copper market.
Comex copper closed today at $4.28 up 3¢/lb from Aug 31 as demand strengthened.
The Davis Index spread for #1 copper wire & tube narrowed by 1.1¢/lb to 20.9¢/lb under the September Comex contract, with the grade’s weekly transaction price increasing by 5¢/lb to $4.07/lb delivered.
Spreads for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 0.2¢/lb to 14.3¢/lb under the September Comex contract on Tuesday. Bare bright’s transaction price increased by 3¢/lb to $4.13/lb delivered US consumer.
For #2 light copper, the spread narrowed by 0.2¢/lb to 56¢/lb under the September Comex contract while its transaction price made up for all its losses from last week and grew by 3¢/lb to $3.71/lb delivered US consumer.
Demand for certain grades like #1 wire & tube and #2 copper chops has strengthened this week on more deals for these grades while the requirement for other grades is expected to tick up during the week. Some sales for #1 wire & tube have been heard at spreads that are at least 4¢/lb tighter than the indexed spread whereas deals for #2 chops were heard almost 3¢/lb tighter than the indexed spread of 34.1¢/lb under the September Comex.
Still, trade remained subdued on Tuesday as participants returned from the long Labor Day weekend to stable supply and demand. Scrap flows remain healthy, ensuring an adequate supply to meet stronger demand. Participants, however, remain concerned over high freight rates that are adding to the prices as well as the continued shortages in labor and transportation, which are delaying delivery times.