Aluminium import prices in Asia for 6063 extrusion, Tally or aluminium radiators and Zorba 95/2 rose despite a drop in the three-month aluminium contract on LME. Asian buyers struggled to secure scrap amidst container and vessel shortage experienced by exporters in the US.
Chinese buyers kept their bids unchanged for ADC 12 and Indian manufacturers rose their offers by $10/mt, while Japanese offers rose from the prior week as the cost of the few grades rose.
Market participants informed that freight rates on selected routes rose on the back of container shortage. Sources told Davis Index that getting scrap imported to India and other South Asian countries is getting delayed by a month. The demand for the raw material used by the auto alloy manufacturers slowed down from Oct but delay in the transportation is leading to the rise in prices of scrap.
The official three-month aluminium contract settled at $2,008.5/mt on Dec 23, down by $37/mt from $2,045.5/mt on Dec 16.
The weekly Davis Index for Talk or aluminium-copper radiators settled at $3,675/mt cfr India port, down by $13/mt while the index for Taint/Tabor settled at $1,485/mt, down by $21/mt from $1,506/mt cfr India port. The weekly index for Tense settled at $1,492/mt cfr India port, down by $8/mt.
The weekly Davis Indexes for Zorba 95/2 settled at $1,660/mt, up by $72/mt from $1,588/mt cfr India port and for Zorba 99/3 settled at $1,700/mt cif China port, up by $20/mt.
The weekly Davis Indexes for 6063 extrusion rose to $1,650/mt cfr India port, up by $35/mt while for A356 wheels dropped to $1,815/mt cfr India port, down by $40/mt.
The weekly Davis Indexes for ADC 12 settled flat at $2,155/mt cfr China, up by $5/mt; and at $2,325mt cfr Japan, up by $85/mt.