Brass Bar Price Keeps Flat in Tokyo

Brass bar market price seems to keep flat around Tokyo for a while. The spot price among local wholesalers sustains at 750-800 yen per kilogram for round brass bar with 25 millimeters diameter, though market price of brass turning scrap downed by 40 yen to 603 yen per kg on 11 March, a main material for brass bar.Japanese official copper ingot price was revised down by 60,000 yen per tonne on 11 March. Domestic major brass bar makers revised down purchasing price of brass turning scrap by more than 6% to reflect price down of copper ingot.However, brass bar dealers kept reselling prices unchanged since they revised reselling price only last week. Another background is strong copper market at overseas. Copper settlement at London Metal Exchange sustains US$ 8,400 per tonne, higher by about US$ 100 than the yearly record in 2007. Brass bar dealers expect Japanese official copper price might rebound soon.Brass bar shipment maintains slow. A dealer source said shipment may not recover even though decreasing reselling price. Some dealers aim to raise reselling price to cover upsurge of brass turning scrap announced on 6 March. They are likely to keep reselling price unchanged by 20 March, a cutoff day at most dealers.