The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades widened by less than a penny as Comex copper prices hover close to their peak for the year.
The Comex spot market closed at $2.941/lb on Tuesday, up from $2.916/lb on July 14, but down from its peak for the year at $2.96/lb.
The spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) delivered US consumer, was weaker by 0.4¢/lb at 9.5¢/lb, under the July Comex contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for bare bright increased by 2.7¢/lb to $2.846/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper (berry/candy) widened by 0.1¢/lb to 15.5¢/lb under the July Comex contract, with the weekly index for the grade increased by 3¢/lb to $2.786/lb.
The spread for #2 copper chops was worse at 27.4¢/lb, down by 0.4¢/lb under the July Comex contract while the index for #2 chops increased by 2.7¢/lb to $2.67/lb.
Demand is still soft domestically, with the brass market providing more activity than copper. Globally, China helped keep spreads from widening even more, but with limited room left of the latest round of quotas, and a strong COMEX market, spreads could get weaker moving forward.