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North American Clean Copper Scrap Drops 10¢/Lb as Aluminum and Brass Weaken
North American clean copper scrap benchmarks fell 10¢/lb on October 14, accelerating a pullback that began one session earlier. Aluminum and brass/bronze also weakened across multiple grades, while steel and stainless steel remained unchanged.
By Carolina Curiel
Published October 15, 2026
Market data: October 14, 2026
Market at a Glance
- Copper: Major clean grades fell ↓10¢/lb.
- Aluminum: Broad decline; E.C. Aluminum Wire led with ↓3¢/lb.
- Brass/Bronze: Most major grades fell ↓2¢/lb.
- Steel: → Flat across all reported benchmarks.
- Stainless Steel: → Flat across all listed grades.
- Clean copper since Oct. 12 peak: ↓12¢/lb over two sessions.
- Clean copper since Oct. 5: Still approximately ↑16¢/lb.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): North American scrap metal buying benchmarks moved broadly lower Wednesday, October 14, with copper recording the sharpest declines on the ScrapMonster Price Index.
#1 Copper Bare Bright, #1 Copper Wire & Tubing, #2 Copper Wire & Tubing and #3 Copper-Light Copper each fell ↓10¢/lb.
Aluminum also weakened across most major grades, while several brass and bronze categories lost 2¢/lb.
Steel and stainless steel were the exceptions, with all listed benchmarks holding unchanged.
Benchmark buying-price move: ScrapMonster reports benchmark market movements. Local yard quotes can vary by grade, location, volume and individual buyer conditions.
ALSO READ:
Clean Copper Dips 2¢/Lb After 28¢ Rally — October 13
ScrapMonster Exclusive: Copper Has Erased 43% of Its Recent Rally in Two Sessions
The 10¢ decline is more significant when placed against copper's recent run.
The four major clean copper grades accumulated 28¢/lb of gains between October 5 and October 12.
They then lost 2¢/lb on October 13 and another 10¢/lb on October 14.
That puts the two-session retreat at 12¢/lb, erasing roughly 43% of the preceding 28¢ rally.
Even after the pullback, however, the benchmarks remain approximately 16¢/lb above their October 5 starting point.
| Market Date | Clean Copper Move | Running Change Since Oct. 5 |
|---|---|---|
| October 5 | ↑8¢/lb | +8¢ |
| October 6 | ↑2¢/lb | +10¢ |
| October 7 | → Flat | +10¢ |
| October 8 | → Flat | +10¢ |
| October 9 | ↑13¢/lb | +23¢ |
| October 12 | ↑5¢/lb | +28¢ |
| October 13 | ↓2¢/lb | +26¢ |
| October 14 | ↓10¢/lb | +16¢ |
The latest move therefore looks more substantial than Tuesday's 2¢ pause, but it has not yet erased the October advance.
The next session becomes more important: another large decline would turn a two-day pullback into a more meaningful reversal of the recent copper repricing.
COMEX Copper Confirms the Reversal — But Scrap Fell Faster
The exchange market also weakened during the same two-session period.
December COMEX copper declined from approximately $6.7470/lb on October 12 to $6.7260/lb on October 13 and then to approximately $6.6605/lb on October 14.
| Copper Benchmark | Oct. 12 | Oct. 14 | Two-Session Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major clean copper scrap | Recent peak | — | ↓12¢/lb |
| December COMEX Copper | $6.7470/lb | $6.6605/lb | ↓8.65¢/lb |
On October 14 alone, December COMEX copper lost approximately 6.55¢/lb, while the clean-scrap benchmarks declined 10¢/lb.
Physical scrap and futures are different markets and should not be treated as interchangeable. But both moved decisively lower, confirming that Wednesday's copper weakness was broader than an isolated scrap-market adjustment.
Clean Copper Leads the Decline
Copper recorded the largest moves among the major North American scrap categories.
| Copper Grade | October 14 Change |
|---|---|
| #1 Copper Bare Bright | ↓10¢/lb |
| #1 Copper Wire & Tubing | ↓10¢/lb |
| #2 Copper Wire & Tubing | ↓10¢/lb |
| #3 Copper-Light Copper | ↓10¢/lb |
| #1 Insulated Copper Wire 85% Recovery | ↓2¢/lb |
| #2 Insulated Copper Wire 50% Recovery | ↓2¢/lb |
| Copper Radiator | ↓3¢/lb |
| Cu Yokes | ↓1¢/lb |
| Harness Wire 35% Recovery | ↓2¢/lb |
| Romex Wire | ↓2¢/lb |
| Heater Cores | ↓1¢/lb |
Alternator Scrap, Copper Transformer Scrap, Cu/Al Radiator Ends, Cu/Al Radiators, Cu/Al Radiators/Fe, Scrap Electric Motors, Starters and Sealed Units remained → Flat.
Aluminum Weakness Broadens
Aluminum recorded a broad decline rather than weakness in only one or two grades.
1100 Scrap, 356 Aluminum Wheels, 6063 Extrusions/Fe, 6063 Extrusions, 5052 Scrap and 6061 Extrusions each fell ↓2¢/lb.
E.C. Aluminum Wire posted the category's largest decline at ↓3¢/lb.
Chrome Wheels, Litho Sheets, MLC Clips, Old Cast, UBC, Old Sheet, Painted Siding and Zorba 90% NF also declined 2¢/lb.
Aluminum Radiators, Breakage 50% Recovery and Mixed Aluminum Turnings fell 1¢/lb.
Al/Cu Radiators, Al/Cu Radiators/Fe, Aluminum Radiators/Fe and Aluminum Transformers remained unchanged.
China and North America Sent Opposite Aluminum Signals
October 14 produced a useful regional contrast.
North American aluminum scrap weakened broadly, with E.C. Aluminum Wire down 3¢/lb and many major grades down 2¢/lb.
In China, however, 6063 Extrusions, Aluminum Ingots, E.C. Aluminum Wire, Old Cast and Old Sheet each rose CNY 50/MT on the same market date.
This divergence matters because it shows that Wednesday's aluminum weakness was not a uniform global move.
Regional buying conditions, currency relationships, exchange pricing and local supply can all produce different scrap-market outcomes even on the same day.
Brass and Bronze Fall 2¢/Lb
Brass and bronze also moved lower after holding steady the previous session.
70/30 Brass Scrap, 80/20 Brass Scrap, 85/15 Brass Scrap and Brass Radiator each declined ↓2¢/lb.
Red Brass, Red Borings and Yellow Brass recorded the same 2¢/lb decline.
Brass Radiator/Fe and Brass Radiator Ends remained → Flat.
Steel Scrap Remains Unchanged
Ferrous scrap remained completely insulated from Wednesday's non-ferrous decline.
| Steel Grade | October 14 |
|---|---|
| #1 Bundle | → Flat |
| #1 Busheling | → Flat |
| #1 HMS | → Flat |
| HMS 80/20 | → Flat |
| Sheet Metal | → Flat |
| Shredded Auto Scrap | → Flat |
| Structural Steel | → Flat |
The contrast remains clear: recent North American daily volatility has been concentrated in non-ferrous scrap rather than ferrous benchmarks.
Stainless Steel Also Holds Steady
Stainless steel showed no daily variation.
201 SS, 301 SS, 304 SS Solid, 304 SS Turning, 309 SS, 310 SS, 330 SS and 316 SS Solid all remained → Flat.
ScrapMonster Intelligence: The Market Shifted From a Copper Pullback to Broader Non-Ferrous Weakness
Tuesday's market was almost entirely a copper story. Wednesday was not.
On October 13, clean copper lost only 2¢/lb while aluminum and brass remained unchanged.
One session later, clean copper fell 10¢, aluminum weakened across most major grades and brass/bronze declined broadly.
Steel and stainless, meanwhile, remained flat.
That change in breadth is important.
A decline confined to one group can reflect a targeted benchmark adjustment. A session in which copper, aluminum and brass all weaken shows a wider non-ferrous repricing, even though the magnitude differed considerably by metal.
For yards and brokers, that makes the next session useful for determining whether October 14 was a one-day reset after recent strength or the start of a more sustained non-ferrous correction.
What to Watch Next
Clean copper: The recent 28¢ rally has now been cut to a net 16¢ gain since October 5. Another large decline would materially weaken the October advance.
COMEX: December copper has now fallen in two consecutive sessions alongside scrap. Continued futures weakness could keep copper buying benchmarks under pressure.
Aluminum breadth: Wednesday's decline affected far more grades than recent sessions, making follow-through important.
China divergence: Chinese aluminum scrap moved higher on October 14 while North American aluminum fell. Watch whether that regional split persists.
Brass: The 2¢ decline followed copper lower after remaining flat Tuesday. Further weakness would deepen the broader non-ferrous move.
Ferrous: Steel and stainless continue to sit outside the current volatility, maintaining an unusually clear divide between ferrous and non-ferrous benchmarks.
ScrapMonster Market Read: October 14 was the first session in the latest sequence where the weakness clearly spread beyond copper. Clean copper's 10¢ drop was still the headline move, but aluminum and brass also moved lower while steel and stainless stayed flat. Copper remains above early-October levels, so this is not yet a complete reversal of the recent rally. The more important change is breadth: the market moved from a narrow copper pullback on Tuesday to a broader non-ferrous decline on Wednesday. If that pattern continues, the October rally will look increasingly like it has entered a genuine correction rather than a brief consolidation.
Sources: ScrapMonster Price Index; December COMEX copper historical market data.
