Tighter High Grade Copper Scrap Supply in Tokyo

Copper scrap market price is still weak around Tokyo due to lower official copper ingot price. The scrap price decreased to less than 800 yen per kilogram for no.1 copper wire scrap last week when the official ingot price decreased to 890,000 yen per tonne. However, the scrap supply gets tighter especially for no.1 copper scrap. The dealers feel strong demand for the scrap grade. Market price of no.1 copper scrap is around 780 yen per kg around Tokyo, which is 14% lower than 910 yen level in early August. The dealers are suffered from the inventory valuation loss due to higher stock operations under slower summer market. The scrap supply was also lower during summer. The supply is still low level in the month. Supply of no.1 copper scrap is lower than other grades due to coated electric wire is exported without process for no.1 copper scrap. A dealer source said the sellers gain around 20 yen per kg through the direct export compared with process to sell no.1 copper scrap. The scrap dealers start price negotiation with rolled copper makers for October-December shipment. The makers are expected to increase the purchase volume than July-September. With the higher demand, copper scrap supply could get tighter. Supply of no.1 copper scrap is already tighter than other grades. Some dealers concern they couldn’t secure the materials for regular shipment for the buyers after October. Some dealers already increase the purchase price to secure the high grade copper scrap and some purchase no.1 scrap at around 800 yen per kg.