SMM

As copper prices kept dropping amid uncertain risks overseas and the weak Chinese economic recovery, copper scrap suppliers became less willing to ship cargo in May. The market thus saw a sharp decline in scrap supply. The price spread between the copper cathode and copper scrap hovered around the advantageous level for users and dipped to a low of 561 yuan/mt, which depressed copper scrap consumption. Most of the copper rod factories using copper scrap shut down in May due to difficulties in purchasing copper scrap.