Japan Electrolytic Cu Foil Makers to Hike Cu Scrap Buy Price in April-June

Japanese electrolytic copper foil makers will increase the copper scrap purchase price for April-June for long term contract scrap suppliers when the scrap supply gets tighter and tighter since beginning of the year. The makers are forced to increase the price when the production is expected to keep firm in and after April.

A major foil maker around Tokyo plan to increase the production with higher order. The maker notified the scrap suppliers of the intention to increase the purchase volume of copper nugget in April-June from January-March. The maker will increase the premium on copper ingot price at London Metal Exchange by around 5,000 yen per tonne.

The maker purchased copper raw materials at spot basis in the month as February. However, the purchase volume was only around a third of the planned volume. A major copper scrap dealer said the firm cannot meet the additional request when the firm manages to secure the supply volume for long term contract.

Other foil makers will increase the scrap purchase volume in April-June from January-March while they didn’t offer the price. The makers around Tokyo reduced the purchase volume in January-February but they try to increase the purchase volume. The makers around Osaka keep 80-90% of operation.

The supply of nugget and no.1 copper wire scrap shows no sign to increase. A dealer said the scrap suppliers seek higher price to keep stable supply for long term contract while the price decreased in January-March.