Japan Copper Products Makers to Cut Scrap Buy Price, Volume

Japanese major copper scrap buyers including copper foil and rolled copper makers would reduce the contract volume and price of copper raw materials for January-March from October-December at the negotiation with the scrap dealers. The makers show less appetite when the demand decreases in October-December. The makers already stopped almost all spot purchase and reduce the contract based purchase volume in and after January. The scrap market is weak due to slow purchase activity by the dealers.

A major copper foil maker around Tokyo informed the dealers earlier the month that the firm reduces copper nugget purchase price by 1,000-2,000 yen per kilogram for January-March from October-December. The maker showed the intention to keep the purchase volume.

The maker usually adjusts the purchase volume through spot purchase every month but the firm didn’t purchase the material at spot base in October-December. A nugget maker said the maker apparently doesn’t purchase the material at spot basis.

Other makers of copper foil, flat and strip products and brass bar also try to decrease the raw material purchase price and volume. A major maker of copper flat and strip around Tokyo, which usually sets the purchase condition every month, reduced the purchase volume by around 10% for No.1 copper wire and other scrap in December. The maker will reduce the material purchase volume by additional 10% in January, according to the supplier.

Some brass bar makers also reduce the purchase volume. The makers usually keep purchase volume of brass turning scrap even when they reduce the purchase volume of other grade of scrap. However, the makers try to reduce the brass turning scrap purchase price by several yen per kg and reduce the purchase volume, according to the dealers.

The scrap market price is around 705 yen per kg for No.1 copper wire scrap around Tokyo even when Japanese official copper ingot price reached 800,000 yen per tonne on Thursday. The dealers are reluctant to procure the scrap at the lower price level while No.1 copper wire scrap was more than 710 yen per kg in early April when the official copper ingot price was 790,000 yen per tonne.