Aluminium import prices in Asia for 6063 extrusion, A35 wheels, Taint/Tabor, Tense, Zorba 95/2, Talk, Tally dipped despite the marginal gain in the three-month aluminium contract on LME from the prior week. Trades for ADC 12 to China gained momentum while Japanese demand remained weak on the back of the semiconductor chip shortage in the Island country. Indian manufactures did not hear new offers from Chinese buyers last week.
Market participants shared that domestic demand for the input material used by the auto alloy manufacturers is weak. The alloy exporters to China are active but importers are suffering from double whammy — container shortage and escalated freight charges on several routes – and expect the situation to change after February 15.
The official three-month aluminium contract rose to $1,984/mt from $1,978.5/mt up by $5.5/mt
The weekly Davis Index for Zorba 95/2 settled at $1,478/mt cfr India port, down by $26/mt while the index for Zorba 99/3 increased by $10/mt to $1,540/mt cif China port. Exporters shared that Chinese bids have gained marginally as the market will reopen post the Chinese New Year break. Exports of scrap material en route China is being reprocessed at Hongkong and Malaysian ports, market participants said.
The weekly Davis Index for 6063 extrusion settled down by R$50/mt at $1,610/mt cfr India while the index for Taint/Tabor dropped by $52/mt to settle at $1,525/mt cfr India port.
The weekly Davis Index A356 wheels dropped to $1,846/mt cfr India port, down by $4/mt. The index for Tense settled at $1,447/mt cfr India port, down by $68/mt.
The weekly Davis Index for Talk or Aluminium-Copper radiators dropped by $23/mt to $3,713/mt cfr India port.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr China settled at $2,001/mt from $1,825/mt cfr China port, up by $176/mt. Chinese bids gained as the market will reopen after the New Year celebrations till Feb 12.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr Japan settled at $2,075/mt, up by $75/mt from the prior week. Indian manufacturers reported slow purchase orders from Japan as buyers reported weak auto demand on semiconductor chip shortage.