Japan Copper Scrap Export Decreases Widely in May

Japanese copper scrap export decreased by 10% to 37,232 tonnes in May from a year earlier, which hit the lowest as May since 2005, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The export decreased by 10% year-on-year for China when Chinese government strengthened the environmental regulations. On the other hand, the averaged unit price of Japanese copper scrap export hit record 278 yen per kilogram.Scrap buyers have decreased copper scrap procurement since mid April with concerns Chinese plants’ operations might be regulated before Beijing Olympic. The regulations were tightened in Tianjin earlier than other regions since Tianjin is near from Beijing. Japanese export of low grade electric wire scrap is mainly bound for Tianjin. Consequently Japanese electric wire scrap export became stagnant. Other scrap exports also decreased such for low grade brass scrap and insulated cable scrap.Monthly average of London Metal Exchange copper settlement was US$ 8,378 per tonne in May, down from US$ 8,685 in April. However, averaged unit price of Japanese copper scrap export surged up because of the decrease of low grade wire scrap.