Copper Scrap Supply Still Tight, Consumption Relatively Weak

SHANGHAI, Sep 27 (SMM) - Copper prices opened lower last week. In contrast, the traded prices of copper scrap were high due to tight supply and stockpiling by processing companies after the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays. The orders at copper rod plants using copper scrap were weak due to the narrow price spread between copper cathode and copper scrap. The copper cathode consumption improved.

According to SMM, the producers will close for several days for the week-long National Day holidays against insufficient raw materials.

According to customs statistics, the import volume of raw materials for secondary copper was 129,800 mt in August, a decrease of 19,600 mt or 13.10% compared with July. The decrease in imports was mainly due to tight supply and high prices of overseas cargoes, resulting in import losses of some products. This affected the enthusiasm of traders to import. Meanwhile, strict customs inspections and long customs clearance periods kept imports from growing in August.

The CIF quotation of raw materials for secondary copper rose in September. This, coupled with the normalisation of strict customs inspections, is expected to continue to hamper the import of raw materials for secondary copper. The supply of copper scrap will hardly improve substantially during the year.