Copper Scrap Market Weekly Overview (June 8-12, 2026)

The spot supply in China's copper scrap market tightened notably last week. For red copper scrap, upstream traders held low inventories, and most were operating at a loss. Combined with conservative bidding from downstream buyers, their willingness to sell was weak, with activity largely limited to gathering small, low-cost parcels to bring down average holding costs. For brass scrap, upstream traders mostly sought to buy low and sell high in line with market moves, but tight spot supply and insufficient downstream demand made this difficult to execute, limiting the volume delivered to the market. Looking ahead, copper prices are expected to rebound this week as macro headwinds ease. With improved trading margins, traders' selling willingness should strengthen, and spot supply is likely to recover. However, given scarce copper scrap availability, the amount upstream traders can release is expected to remain limited, capping overall supply improvement.

China's copper scrap market turnover fell last week. In the red copper scrap segment, as end-users' consumption off-season approached, lacklustre orders for finished products weighed on downstream procurement for copper scrap. This, combined with tighter spot supply and limited appetite for high-priced material, kept overall market trading thin. In the brass scrap segment, subdued consumption and sharp price swings prompted end-users to largely purchase based on rigid demand. Although brass scrap processors were relatively active in selling, actual order volumes remained small, so most enterprises stayed cautious, limiting overall deals. 

 

Looking ahead, given weak end-use consumption in the near term,  copper scrap demand from both scrap-based anode producers and secondary copper processors is expected to remain limited.