This Week’s Scrap Metal Prices & Market News

Posted on by Tom Buechel

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Copper Continues Its Winning Streak

ALSO: Aluminum & Stainless Steel About To Take Off?

Report Date: 11/16/22

Happy (almost) Turkey Day! Check out some of our favorite Thanksgiving Memes.

We hope everyone has been watching the markets- as we’ve seen more and more reported prices increasing across the board on yellow and red metals over the last week. We’ve seen an unprecedented increase in copper prices of $0.50 per pound in the previous four weeks, and that has caused a significant ripple effect across the market.

Why are copper prices going up?

We expect more changes in the non-ferrous market as they look to be an optimistic upswing. We’ll talk about each of those later on.

In the coming weeks, we have a new website launching where you can research scrap markets, report prices, and have a much more interactive experience regarding your scrap and metal knowledge and learning about the markets.

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Non-Ferrous Prices & Market Status

  • Copper – SELL

  • Aluminum – HOLD

  • Brass – SELL

  • Copper Wire – SELL

  • Stainless Steel – HOLD

SEE ALL PRICES

Copper Continues Its Strong Scrap Prices

Last week we saw copper prices increase by about $0.35. Overall, since Friday, November 4, we’ve seen an increase of about $0.45 altogether.

One of the primary reasons we saw the increase in this market is that the Chinese are talking about lifting COVID protocols, which could jumpstart more materials consumed.

This has been a nice increase and surprise that caught many people off guard, but we are starting to see the markets react with price increases over the last few days.

Are aluminum and stainless steel about to go up?

Many of you have asked about other markets, such as aluminum and nickel, and you’re in luck! We also have some potentially good news on the horizon.

With major companies based out of Russia potentially being blocked from the world commodities markets, we could start seeing an increase in aluminum and nickel prices.

These markets have been heavily weighed down in the second half of 2022 and are already starting to see an increased price across the board for many materials.

Items such as aluminum have increased by $0.03/lb on average, and stainless steel prices are starting to show an uptick of $0.02-$0.03 per pound.

Suggested Reading: Should I Granulate My Scrap Copper?

Non-Ferrous Scrap Prices

Get Access to Charts – DOWNLOAD TODAY

 

Ferrous Prices & Market Status

  • #1 Steel – HOLD

  • Shreddable Steel – SELL

  • Light Iron – SELL

  • Cast Iron – HOLD

  • Complete Car – SELL

SEE ALL PRICES

Hold Your Heavy Steel, Sell Your Light Stuff

Many believe that the oil and gas prices that have decreased over the last few weeks are a very short fall due to the strategic oil reserves being released into the markets.

High Fuel Costs Are Hurting Steel Prices

After the election cycle, many analysts predict that these prices will start to increase, especially on the diesel side of the markets going into the winter.

The price increases in fuel will continue to hurt the steel market if there continues to be an oversupply of materials.

Steel Prices Slipping $10-15 Per Ton

We’ve seen steel prices slip another $10-15 per ton, and these markets do not look to increase or have any signs of life going into 2023. We are confident that these markets are near or close to the bottom, but we continue to advise selling these bulky materials. Unless you can store them, heavy weights will not make you more money by holding onto them because of the double handling. 

Suggested Reading: Do Yards Have Steel Weight Requirements?

Ferrous Scrap Prices

Get Access to Charts – DOWNLOAD TODAY

 

Catalytic Converter Prices & Market Status

  • Catalytic Converters – SELL

SEE ALL PRICES

Precious Metal Prices See Increase

The precious metals market has also seen a nice increase over the last few weeks, with the average catalytic converter prices approaching $170.

Platinum prices have risen above $1,000 per ounce, and palladium markets are around $2,000 per ounce. These price increases have been the first time these markets have crossed over those thresholds in many weeks, if not months.

With an upward push on emissions controls, we expect to see more demand for these precious metals moving into 2023.

Whether or not there’s a significant increase in pricing is yet to be seen. Still, we could see a considerable run-up if there’s a similar pinch to many Russian companies as we’re starting to see on the aluminum and nickel side of things.

10-Day Price Lock for Catalytic Converters

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This Week’s Summary

One of the most exciting things we’ve been following is the development of electric vehicles, batteries, and materials needed to build and fuel these batteries.

Lithium Costs Are Driving Up

With increasing lithium costs and cobalt costs, we have started to see auto manufacturers looking towards other types of battery technologies, even using iron.

As electric vehicles continue their push forward, we’re watching these markets closely to see how it will affect the scrap industry, as many cars being produced start to be scrapped in the next 3 to 5 years. 

With very little downflow for recycled products or better recycling methods, we’re continuing to see government, subsidized grants going to companies to try to develop these technologies.

With heavy capital markets and investment, we’re not sure how long it will take or the feasibility of starting a higher demand and scrap market for these materials.

Thank you…

We will take next week off and return the first Wednesday of December to talk about the last month of the year and get ready to recap 2020 and preview 2023. We continue to read and reply to many of your comments on YouTube and other social media channels, so please continue to reach out to us to help better educate you in the Scrap market.

Don’t forget to check out weekly videos and podcasts on YouTube!

 

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