The operating rates of copper rod plants using copper scrap were 43.68% between August 18 and August 24, a rise of 2.97 percentage points from the prior week, according to SMM survey of 15 plants with a capacity of 1.48 million mt/year).
On the supply side, the gains in copper prices boosted the enthusiasm of copper scrap traders for selling, easing supply tightness. And the price difference between copper cathode and copper scrap gradually widened, but failed to reach the advantageous level for scrap users. As some copper scrap suppliers were still optimistic about copper prices, the growth in copper scrap supply was insignificant last week.
Increased supply of copper scrap prompted copper rod plants using copper scrap to accelerate production for order delivery. The current supply of copper rod produced with copper scrap remains tight. Last week, copper rod produced with copper scrap were quoted with premiums over the SHFE front-month copper contract until Thursday. As of last Thursday, the average price spread between copper rod produced with copper cathode and produced with copper scrap was 837 yuan/mt, an increase of 186 yuan/mt from the previous week. While the economic benefit of copper rod produced with copper scrap emerged, the higher absolute prices limited the increase in new orders last week.

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