US weekly export copper scrap spreads were rangebound on Wednesday in a quiet market.
Asian buyers are returning to the market as demand improves in destinations like India and Pakistan. Maintenance-related outages in Europe next month are also seeing more loads being sold to that destination as mills plan to complete filling their inventories before shutting down through most of August. Prices have also crept up to account for an increase in freight rates.
The next active Comex copper contract increased by 1.9¢/lb to $4.311/lb today from Jun 30. The copper market has been stable keeping Comex copper prices mostly rangebound. Strong order books and higher cathode premiums are likely to put some upward pressure on copper prices in the near term.
The Davis Index weekly spread for bare bright (barley) was flat at 18.5¢/lb under the next active Comex copper contract, while #1 copper wire & tube (Berry Candy) narrowed by 0.1¢/lb to 25.6¢/lb under the next active Comex.
Transaction prices for copper scrap grades inched up on Wednesday with bare bright (barley) rising by 2.5¢/lb to $4.125/lb fas US port and #1 copper wire & tube increasing by 2.4¢/lb to $4.054/lb fas.
The Davis Index weekly spread for export #2 copper (Birch Cliff) was also unchanged at 54.5¢/lb under the next active Comex copper contract. The grade’s outright price increased by 4.5¢/lb to $3.765/lb fas US port.
China announced that it sold around 20,000mt of its copper reserves in half the reserved time in order to cool the market prices for its base metals. However, this has hardly affected the overall movement in the market as robust demand has kept prices high.