Overseas copper prices retreat from high levels, triggering a pricing standoff, as the scrap copper quotation coefficient surges, causing the market to fall into deadlock.

Due to recent sharp fluctuations and significant declines in overseas copper prices, according to SMM, the global scrap copper trade has slowed considerably. The rapid decline in copper prices has widened the psychological price gap between buyers and sellers, leading to notable disagreements in pricing logic. Taking bright copper as an example, overseas stockholders, in order to hedge against the risk of absolute price drops, generally show a reluctance to sell, with quotation coefficients rising from last week’s LME 98-98.5% to LME 99-99.5%, an increase of 1 percentage point. In contrast, Chinese importers, constrained by domestic profit margins, still insist on maintaining last week’s quotation coefficient of 98.5%. This has made it difficult for both sides to reach a consensus on prices, and overall market trading activity remains subdued.