If you sell scrap metal, the price you're quoted can seem to move for no reason. It rarely does. Behind every figure at the weighbridge sits a chain of global and local factors. Understanding them helps you sell at the right time and judge whether an offer is fair.
1. The global benchmark: the LME
Most non-ferrous metals — copper, aluminium, lead, zinc, nickel — are priced against the London Metal Exchange (LME). The LME sets a daily world reference price for refined metal. When you read that "copper hit $9,500 a tonne", that's the LME cash price for pure copper cathode.
Your scrap isn't pure refined metal, so you're never paid the full LME price — but that benchmark is the starting point everything else is discounted from. When the LME rises, scrap prices generally follow within days; when it falls, the same.
2. The discount to LME: grade and contamination
From that benchmark, a buyer works backwards. The cleaner and more consistent your material, the closer to LME you'll be paid. The discount widens with:
- Mixed grades — bright copper wire pays far more than mixed "braziery" copper with brass or solder attached.
- Contamination — attached steel, plastic, rubber, or moisture all reduce the recoverable metal and the price.
- Form — baled, sorted material is worth more than loose, dirty mixed loads that still need processing.
The single biggest thing in your control is sorting. Separating grades at source — rather than tipping everything into one skip — is often the difference between a top and a bottom price.
3. Energy costs
Recycling metal still takes energy — for melting, refining, and transport. When energy prices spike, smelters' margins shrink and they pay less for feedstock. The huge advantage of recycled metal is that it uses a fraction of the energy of primary production, which is exactly why demand for clean scrap stays strong over the long term.
4. Export demand and shipping
The UK is a net exporter of scrap metal. That means global demand — particularly from large processing economies — and the cost of container shipping feed directly into domestic prices. Strong export demand lifts prices; expensive freight or port congestion drags them down. Our own UK-to-India supply chain is built around exactly this flow.
5. Local and seasonal factors
- Volume — larger, regular loads attract better rates than one-off small quantities.
- Logistics — material we can collect efficiently in bulk costs less to handle, which is reflected in the price.
- Timing — markets soften and strengthen through the year; holding clean material for a stronger week can pay.
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Request a Quote →This article is general information, not financial or trading advice. Scrap prices change daily — contact us for an indicative quote on your specific material.