Asia aluminium scrap import prices remained pressurised as buyers await clear price direction amidst volatility in prices driven by aluminium contract on LME. The three-month aluminium contract on LME dropped by $97/mt to settle at $2,337/mt on May 24 from May 21 and then gained to settle at $2,421/mt on May 27. Weak demand continues as secondary manufacturers are grappling with a shortage of workforce.
ADC 12 trades to Japan remained weak in the week that ended on Friday. A few manufacturers in India reported Chinese buyers increasing offers for the imports of ADC 12 in sync with the rising trend in the LME aluminium for three days before May 27.
The weekly Davis Indexes for Zorba 95/2 settled at $1,725/mt cfr India port, down by $56/mt, while for Zorba 99/3, it settled at $1,820/mt cif China port, down by $18/mt.
Stringent checks at Chinese ports continues. A few exporters are repacking Zorba at Hong Kong port after cleaning the material as per the standards prescribed by the Chinese customs department, though this process is time-consuming. Getting empty containers in Hong Kong to transport cleaner scrap to China is also becoming an issue. Chinese auto component manufacturers have turned to other Asian countries for the import of ADC 12 but their appetite for auto alloys is limited.
The weekly Indexes for 6063 extrusion settled at $2,118/mt cfr India port, up by $70/mt while for A356 wheels, settled at $2,165/mt, up by $15/mt. Participants heard trades of extrusion 95/5 at $2,000/mt, up from $1950/mt cfr India port prior week while trades for clean extrusion are taking place at $2,200/mt from $2,175/mt cfr India.
The weekly Index for Taint/Tabor was down by $8/mt to settle at $1,755/mt cfr India port and the index for Tense settled at $1,725/mt cfr India port, down by $35/mt.
ADC 12 trades
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr China settled $2,350/mt cfr China port, a decrease of $25/mt from a week ago. The weekly Index for ADC 12 cfr Japan settled at $2,350/mt, down by $50/mt. Secondary manufacturers in India reported having exported ADC 12 to $2,380/mt cfr Korea port as both China and Japan are not active in the market.