India’s weekly aluminium scrap import prices rose by 2-5pc on a 4pc boost from the LME aluminium futures contract, along with an increase in offer prices as China returned to the market for scrap on Tuesday.
The Davis Index for Taint/Tabor settled at $1,050/mt cfr India port, Friday, up by $27/mt from a week ago and the weekly index for Tense settled at $988/mt cfr India port, up by $8/mt. Offers from aluminium scrap sellers rose on increased demand from China, as the ninth batch of scrap import quotas allowed the country’s secondary smelters to book new orders. India’s buying, however, remained subdued on stocked up inventories and little to no change in downstream demand.
India’s secondary aluminium alloy manufacturers looked towards domestic markets where auto demand is slowly recovering, over Chinese orders where offers are still low, between $1,360-$1,380/mt cfr. Logistical uncertainties and an anti-China sentiment due to the ongoing border tensions between the two countries also hit trades. The weekly index for ADC12 settled at $1,420/mt, up by $4/mt. Japan’s demand for the secondary alloy also rose in the past week and the index settled at $1,482/mt fob China, up by $32/mt from a week ago.
The official three-month LME aluminium contract settled at $1,687/mt, Thursday, up by $65.5/mt from a week ago, recovering to early-March levels.