Asian aluminium import prices for A35 wheels, Tense, Taint/Tabor and Tally gained while Zorba 95/2 and Talk dropped despite the rise in the three-month aluminium contract on LME from the prior week. The trades for ADC 12 to China and Japan remained slow with only a few manufacturers hearing ADC 12 bids from China and Japan.
Market participants remained cautious of the changes in prices on LME, hoping that the scrap prices would fall following the slide in the global market. Importers continued to struggle with vessels’ and containers’ shortage and avoided booking as downstream manufacturers shirked away from buying scrap at higher price due to rising freight.
The official three-month aluminium contract rose to $2,235.5/mt from $2,226.5/mt on March 25, up by $9/mt from March 18.
The weekly Davis Index for Zorba 95/2 settled at $1,690/mt cfr India port, down by $3/mt. The weekly Davis Index for Zorba 99/3 settled at $1,828/mt cif China port, up by $108/mt. Zorba prices remained slightly up as three-month LME copper prices dropped by $297/mt to settle at $8,780.5/mt on March 25. Some trades were heard at $1,730/mt cif China port for zorba 99/3 but not all participants confirmed these prices.
The weekly Davis Index for 6063 extrusion settled at $1,805/mt cfr India port, up by $38/mt. Others reported trades of 6063 extrusion at $1,830/mt cfr India port, but not all importers confirmed the escalation in the price.
The weekly Davis Index for Taint/Tabor rose by $17/mt to settle at $1,673/mt from $1,656/mt cfr India port. The weekly Davis Index for A356 wheels rose to $1,990/mt from $1,975/mt, up by $15/mt cfr India port while for Tense, it settled at $1,614/mt, up by $14/mt.
The weekly Davis Index for Talk or Aluminium-Copper radiators settled at $4,202/mt, sliding by $148/mt cfr India port. Bids hovered around $4,400/mt. Demand was muted as importers took a brief pause to analyse the future price direction.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr China settled at $2,183/mt, down by $17/mt cfr China. Some ADC 12 exporters reported bids at $2,200/mt level as well.
The weekly Davis Index for ADC 12 cfr Japan settled at $2,275/mt, down by $25/mt. Chinese manufacturers heard bids from Japan at $2,350/mt level but Indian manufacturers heard bids of $2,275/mt.