Aluminium import prices in Asia for A35 wheels, Taint/Tabor, Tense, Zorba 95/2, Talk, and Tally rose in sync with the spike in the three-month aluminium contract on LME from the prior week. Scarcity of scrap also aided the hike as exporters in the Northern hemisphere struggled with rough winter conditions. Trades for ADC12 to Japan showed signs of recovery and a few manufacturers also heard Chinese bids for ADC 12.
Domestic demand for the input material used by the auto alloy manufacturers has picked up after a gap of three months. Alloy exporters to Japan are becoming active in the market. Importers who were reeling under vessel and container shortage, are now also dealing with scarcity of certain grades because of short supply from the US and Europe due to rough weather.
The official three-month aluminium contract rose to $2,227/mt on Feb 25 from $2,161/mt, up by $66/mt.
The weekly Davis Indexes for Zorba 95/2 settled at $1,686/mt cfr India port, up by $98/mt and for Zorba 99/3 settled at $1,765/mt cif China port, up by $125/mt. Zorba prices surged as three-month LME copper prices gained $931.5/m to settle at $9,562.5mt on Feb 25, from $8,631/mt on Feb 18.
The weekly Davis Index for 6063 extrusion settled at $1,695/mt cfr India port, down by $6/mt while participants reported trades of 6063 extrusion bare at $1,900/mt cfr India port on the back of the spike in the aluminium prices on LME. Others reported deals of 6063 extrusion at $1,750/mt cfr India port and above, but not all importers confirmed the escalation in the extrusion prices.
The weekly Davis Indexes for Taint/Tabor rose by $18/mt to settle at $1,584/mt cfr India port and for A356 wheels rose to $1,940/mt cfr India port, an increase of $40/mt. The Index for Tense settled at $1,530/mt cfr India port, up by $30/mt.
The weekly Davis Index for Talk or Aluminium-Copper radiators increased by $212/mt to $4,337/mt from $4,125/mt cfr India port. Participants also reported prices hovering between $4,400-4,450/mt on the back of the surge in the three-month copper contract on LME. Demand is muted due to the surge in prices.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr China settled at $2,200/mt from $2,100/mt cfr China port, up by $100/mt. ADC 12 exporters reported slow demand from China for ADC 12 alloys on the back of the rising prices driven by the spike in the three-month official contract on LME.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr Japan settled at $2,375/mt from $2,200/mt, up by $175/mt from the prior week.