- Strong demand seen amid tight raw material supply
- China’s reciprocal tariffs on US impact scrap imports
India’s copper scrap prices inched up this week, following a 2% w-o-w increase in London Metal Exchange (LME) futures.
Copper armature scrap was assessed at INR 792,000/tonne (t) ex-Delhi, up by INR 12,000/t w-o-w, while motors mix increased by $30/t w-o-w to $1,175/t. LME futures inched up by 2% to $9,382/t from last week’s $9,189/t. Meanwhile, copper stocks at LME-registered warehouses stood at 195,625 t, down by 2.2% compared to 200,150 t the previous week.
Secondary continuously cast rods (CCRs) (99.90%) were assessed at INR 843,000/t ex-Delhi, reflecting an increase of INR 13,000/t w-o-w. Meanwhile, primary CCR prices stood at INR 865,000/t, steady w-o-w.
Domestic market
Copper scrap demand remains strong, with buyers actively purchasing in expectation of further price increases.
As per one market participant, “Raw material availability is tight due to a global shortage, while persistent labour constraints continue to limit supply. This combination is keeping competition high and supporting firm copper scrap prices in the current market environment.”
Domestic copper scrap availability has been good of late. But with several countries implementing measures to restrict scrap exports, the supply outlook for Indian buyers could tighten, potentially leading to increased competition and upward pressure on domestic copper scrap prices going forward.
Global updates
Copper supply outside of exchange-registered inventories (EQ) remains tight, primarily due to unreliable power supply in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a key production hub. Some producers in the DRC are currently only able to fulfill the lower end of their contracted delivery volumes.
Additionally, China experienced a tightening in copper scrap supply during March and April, largely due to its retaliatory tariffs on US copper scrap imports. While overall Chinese copper scrap imports rose by 2.7% y-o-y to 572,234 t in January-March, imports from the US dropped by 16% over the same period as a result of the tariffs.
Domestic supply also contracted in April, as sellers hesitated to offload material following a steep drop in copper prices. In April, domestic copper scrap traded at less than RMB 1,000/t ($138/t) below refined copper significantly narrower than the typical RMB 1,500/t ($207/t) discount considered reasonable by market participants.
As a result, scrap became less appealing to copper fabricators, many of whom shifted to using refined copper instead. This switch has driven up demand and domestic premiums for refined copper.
Recent deals
Australian-origin Brass Honey was heard traded at 65% of 3M LME
UAE Birch Cliff was traded at 93% of 3M LME CFR Chennai
Outlook
Domestic copper scrap availability has been good in the last six months of FY25. However, this may not continue into this fiscal as multiple countries are focusing on reducing scrap exports.
Leave a Reply