UPDATE- ISRI 2019 Commodities Roundtable Forum on Copper

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The panelists at the 2019 Commodities Roundtable Forum organized by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) expressed optimistic future outlook for copper. The conference was held Sept. 11-13 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago.

According to Darrel Fletcher, senior managing director of commodities at Huntington Bank, Columbus, Ohio, copper presently suffers from a lack of confidence. The volatility in copper pricing is mainly attributed to several key factors including the trade war between the U.S. and China as well as the devaluation of currency by Chinese administration. As of now, copper supply and demand are well-balanced.

Another panelist, Pat Boyle, vice president and director of purchasing at brass and bronze ingot maker H. Kramer & Co., Chicago expressed satisfaction at the performance of copper. The current levels of copper prices are sustainable, he added.

The panelists agreed that the U.S. market remained oversupplied with scrap. The copper scrap industry continues to remain extremely healthy, in spite of several downturns. They ruled out possibilities of increased domestic copper scrap consumption in future. Also, fresh investments are concentrated mainly on the scrap processing side of the business, the panel observed.