The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap were rangebound to slightly tight on Tuesday after Comex copper settled lower compared to last week.
Comex copper gave up most of its gains over the past week and closed today at $4.36/lb down by 30¢/lb from Jul 27. The decline revived spot deals in the domestic copper scrap market.
The Davis Index spread for #1 copper wire & tube tightened by 0.8¢/lb at 22.9¢/lb under the August Comex contract, with the grade’s weekly transaction price dropping by 19¢/lb to $4.13/lb delivered. Demand for this grade continues to remain strong compared to bare bright.
Spreads for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) tightened by 0.4¢/lb to 15.2¢/lb under the August Comex contract on Tuesday, with its transaction price declining by 20¢/lb to $4.204/lb delivered US consumer.
For #2 light copper too, the spread narrowed by 0.5¢/lb to 61.1¢/lb under the August Comex contract while its transaction price fell by 20¢/lb to $3.744/lb delivered US consumer.
Higher freight costs and labor shortages continue to impact the copper scrap trade, leading to unpredictability in supply and delivery times. This has led to buyers preferring scrapyards that can deliver the material, leading to a regional variance in supply-demand dynamics. Macroeconomic factors such as the rising COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant have also put pressure on an already tight labor market, making suppliers rethink their hiring strategies to fulfill consumer needs.