Weekly US buying spreads for mill and extrusion grade scrap weakened marginally over the past week, with a few grades tightening as well, bearing witness to the fact that the market has seen demand trickle in again.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,439/mt ($1.106/lb), down by $22.5/mt from Jun 1.
Spot trading for mill grades and extrusion scrap has resumed after two weeks of inactive markets. Prices of 5052 clips have increased noticeably after starting a few cents under 1100 & 3003 in late April, then equalizing and now tallying at least 4¢/lb higher. Healthy scrap flows have ensured a stable supply. Some rolling mills are now chasing UBC scrap more aggressively, with prices heard as high as 79¢/lb delivered. Still, big mills with piled inventory are not willing to pay more than 77¢/lb delivered for the same grade.
The weekly Davis Index spread for 1100 & 3003 clips weakened by 0.3¢/lb to 16.6¢/lb under Midwest while transaction prices for the grade declined 0.9¢/lb to $1.22/lb delivered.
Meanwhile, the spread for mill-grade MLC widened by 2.8¢/lb to 49.1¢/lb under the Midwest transaction price. Outright prices for the grade were at 89.5¢/lb delivered US consumer, down by 3.4¢/lb. The spread for painted siding also widened by 2.5¢/lb to 52.3¢/lb under Midwest.
Spreads for 6063 new bare extrusion scrap weakened and were flat at 11.3¢/lb under Midwest. Transaction prices settled at $1.273/lb delivered, down by 0.6¢/lb.