The US copper and brass scrap market maintained a mostly steady footing this week, although red brass scrap prices nudged higher - supported by Comex gains - while uncertainty over looming scrap restrictions in China has remained a weight on the market.
"Nobody knows where spreads are going to go in the next few months. China is holding all the cards. All the recent purchases I have made are from suppliers hedging. They're selling half their flows early, and holding on to the rest to wait and see what happens with the quotas. For now people don't mind wider spreads as long as they have somewhere to sell at least half of their material," one US consumer said. Sparse details regarding how the Chinese government will restrict imports of certain grades of non-ferrous scrap, under new regulations set to take effect on July...