[SMM Ex-China Copper Scrap Weekly Review] Copper prices moved sideways, while the ex-China secondary copper discount stabilized at highs

SMM, July 17:

LME copper prices moved sideways overall this week. LME copper opened at $13,459/mt on Monday, edged up afterward, but pulled back toward the end of the week. Overall fluctuations were relatively limited. As copper prices showed no clear directional shift, quotation ratios for ex-China copper scrap remained stable this week without significant adjustments. Mainstream quotations for bare bright copper stayed within the 98.5%-99% range, quotations for No.1 copper mostly hovered around 98%, while those for No.2 copper fluctuated within the 96%-98.5% range, influenced by differences in scrap quality and gold and silver content.

In the market, although copper prices edged up this week, ex-China suppliers still held prices firm. Meanwhile, the impact of the traditional consumption off-season persisted, with downstream orders performing modestly, buyers showing limited purchasing motivation, and trading sentiment remaining somewhat sluggish. Overall, the current ex-China copper scrap market continued its supply-demand weakness: available supplies were tight on the supply side, while the demand side remained cautious due to the off-season and high copper prices, leading to low overall market activity.

Looking ahead to next week, the potential for significant demand-side improvement in the short term is limited due to the traditional off-season. Meanwhile, the tight supply pattern has not eased notably, so the supply-demand weakness is expected to persist. Regarding ratios, given the tight supply of ex-China copper scrap and some rigid demand support downstream, quotation ratios are not expected to see a significant pullback and may stay high in the short term.