Japan Copper Price Indicator Drops Again to 560,000 Yen/t

JX Nippon Mining & Metals announced on Friday the firm revised down its electrolytic copper ingot selling price, the price indicator for domestic copper market by 70,000 yen to 560,000 yen per tonne for domestic shipment in October. The price had hit the lowest in late two years, on October 6 and returned to the bottom again along with weak tone in overseas copper markets. The indicator’s monthly average would be 587,000 yen in October, which lowered by 24,500 yen by the latest revision.

Some of copper alloy product dealers around Tokyo decreased their reselling price by around 20 yen per kilogram mainly for brass bar. Meanwhile, some of distributors affiliated to major copper alloy fabricators set the reselling prices unchanged on Friday. One dealer who lowered the reselling price said there was no users’ action to refill inventories though the indicator dropped down since the actual demand maintains weak.

Copper alloy product dealers around Osaka showed disappointment when inventory evaluation loss increased again though JX Nippon Mining & Metals’ indicator had rebounded to 630,000 yen. Dealers’ shipment is unexpected to increase due to weak actual demand despite of the indicator’s down. Around Osaka, copper alloy product dealers usually reflect the indicator’s fluctuation immediately and then the market prices declined by 70 yen per kg for copper based products and by 45 yen for brass based products.

As for copper scrap, dealers’ purchasing and selling actions both stopped around Tokyo on Friday when the indicator continues rough fluctuation. Scrap trading price has lowered while many dealers have held high cost inventories purchased by mid September along with the indicator at around 700,000 yen. One scrap dealer suggested many dealers are likely to stop shipment of high price inventories and then scrap supply may tighten more.