SHANGHAI, Aug. 16 (SMM) –As market confidence was depressed by the downgrade of US credit rating by Standard & Poor’s, LME copper prices tumbled. Domestic copper price declines were much slower than those for LME copper prices, and scrap copper prices also held firm in this round of price declines, which was favorable for scrap copper imports due to profit margins rarely seen recently. As a result, scrap copper importers began to make price quotations gradually, as they were optimistic towards future copper prices, and since slower scrap copper declines can help them make more profits. Last week, discounts for overseas high-quality scrap copper dropped slightly compared to the previous week, with discounts for # 1 scrap copper at negative cents 21 a pound and # 2 scrap copper at negative cents 35-37 a pound.