Stronger copper prices are scaring Asian buyers out of the scrap trade, and traders say the secondary market is cooling down while copper futures heat up.

Copper futures have rallied about 8.5 percent since September, pausing slightly in Thursday and Friday trade following three straight days of gains on the London Metal Exchange. Three-month copper closed second-ring trade on the London Metal Exchange at $6,760 per tonne on Friday, down 0.5 percent from $6,791 per tonne a day earlier. Meanwhile, December-delivery copper on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $3.108 per pound, up 0.9 percent from $3.081 on Thursday.

"The copper market is in great shape, its very strong, yet...