On 26 October 2026 EUWID Recycling reported that last week's fall on the London Metal Exchange had reached the German non-ferrous yard book. News service MBI said wholesale buying-in prices for copper scrap fell by 15 euros per 100 kilograms across all grades. Heavy and light brass lost 5 euros. New rolled brass lost 15 euros. Old zinc lost 5 euros and old lead 2 euros. Aluminium scrap grades covered by MBI fell by 5 euros per 100 kilograms. V2A and V4A chrome-nickel stainless scrap was unchanged.

EUWID put the three-month copper contract about 300 dollars a tonne lower during the week after the mid-October print that had narrowly missed September's all-time high. That mid-October high was the 12 October official three-month settlement of 14,657.50 dollars a tonne on Westmetall's table, the same print this site recorded when German copper and brass scrap rose. Westmetall's official three-month settlement then printed 14,485 dollars on 16 October, 14,096 dollars on 22 October and 14,332 dollars on 26 October. Reuters, in a 23 October metals report, put three-month copper at 14,089 dollars at 16:00 GMT on Thursday with a session low of 14,031 dollars, the weakest since 15 September.

Those figures are exchange settlements and a weekly wholesale change. They are not a walk-in list and not a seaborne index.

Why the exchange eased

Reuters tied Thursday's drop to copper arriving in LME warehouses. Stocks had climbed for a fourth day after 29,050 tonnes of inflows on Wednesday, chiefly into the New Orleans warehouse. Total LME copper stocks stood at 272,950 tonnes, the highest since 24 July. About 62 percent of that inventory sat in the United States. Westmetall's official stock column matches that 22 October print and shows 225,425 tonnes on 16 October, so the warehouse took about 47,500 tonnes in four trading days.

The same Reuters note said traders had shipped metal toward the US Comex contract for much of the year on tariff risk, and that the front of the Comex curve had moved to a discount versus the LME, which encouraged deliveries onto the LME instead. A 24 October Reuters follow-up put Friday three-month copper at 14,334 dollars at 16:15 GMT after a 1.8 percent rebound, with LME stocks up another 800 tonnes to 273,750 tonnes. Westmetall's 23 October official stock is that same 273,750 tonnes. The 26 October official three-month settlement is 14,332 dollars, with stocks at 272,975 tonnes.

Nearby metal is still tight on the LME curve. Reuters put the cash contract at a 116-dollar premium to three-month copper on 23 October. Westmetall's 26 October cash settlement of 14,500 dollars against the 14,332-dollar three-month print is the same shape: prompt metal still costs more than the forward. That cash premium is a nearby-delivery signal. A Berry or Birch payable still has to be agreed on the parcel.

The late-September German copper-scrap record and the mid-October MBI rise sat on the way up. See German copper scrap hits new records. Last week's MBI cut is the first weekly German wholesale decline after that run.

Copper and brass eased together; stainless did not

Brass is a copper-zinc alloy, so a copper pullback often takes yellow metal with it. Keep brass out of the copper bag. Yellow brass (Honey), red brass, radiators and a refinery mix remain different products. A mixed yellow-metal bag will be priced as the weakest reading. See brass scrap.

Aluminium moved with copper this time, unlike the mid-October week when copper rose and aluminium scrap was cut. Reuters put three-month aluminium at 3,010 dollars a tonne on 23 October. A Taldon, Tata or Tense parcel should be offered on its own book. See aluminium scrap.

Zinc and lead scrap followed their exchanges lower, which matches the MBI cuts. Keep both off the copper ticket.

Chrome-nickel stainless — the V2A and V4A grades MBI covers — did not move. A 304 or 316 parcel is still a stainless book. See stainless steel scrap.

Ferrous HMS and shredded are a different book. Copper in fragmentiser steel is a residual the melt pays less for. Do not price a German E3 or E40 parcel off this week's copper move. See HMS scrap and shredded scrap.

Who it affects among yards, traders, mills and processors

Yards should still sort unalloyed copper from brass before the scale. The gap between Berry or Birch and a mixed fittings drum is the working-capital cost of a mis-named lot, on the way down as well as on the way up. Last week's MBI print is a wholesale change. Recheck the bid before you load, because the 14,096-dollar official print on 22 October had already rebounded to 14,332 dollars by 26 October.

Traders booking a German ex-works copper lot and a CFR Asian or Turkish remelt lot are writing different contracts. Do not price one off the other without freight and the payable. BIR's October non-ferrous note already recorded some European smelters postponing already-purchased material. Ask whether the booked tonnes still have a delivery week.

Processors and remelters see a lower cathode print and a warehouse that rebuilt mainly in US LME sheds. That does not refill a European chopper or a German refinery this week. A named No. 1 wire or clean solids lot is still bookable. A mixed copper-scrap drum is a claim. Aurubis's late-2028 Hamburg pre-processing line does not change this week's purchasing ticket.

Steel mills that melt HMS or shredded are not the offtake for this move. Aluminium remelters should treat the MBI aluminium cut as their own book.

The Commission's draft waste-import list is a 2027 file. It does not change a copper container loading this week. Treat destination planning separately from this week's German wholesale number.

How to name the lot

Name the preparation the melt already uses: Berry or No. 1 wire, Birch or No. 2 wire, Candy or clean solids, Honey or yellow brass solids, red brass. Add tonnes, packing, city or load point, and whether the sale is ex-works, delivered or FOB. State if the lot is insulated cable, radiators or turnings. Do not write a live LME screenshot or last week's MBI change on the listing. How to sell scrap metal still starts with a named grade and a named load point. Scrap metal prices depend on that grade, not on a weekly wholesale delta.

Verified companies can place the parcel on live lots or answer a wanted notice. Request access if you sell German or other EU copper and brass or buy for a remelt or chopper.