US buying spreads for mill and extrusion grade scrap widened for multiple grades as the physical market lagged LME cash price’s upward trajectory.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,714/mt ($1.23/lb), up by $66/mt from Aug 24.
Spreads for plenty of grades widened, though 6063 extrusions and EC chops, used to make secondary billet, held or tightened showing the newfound demand for billet in this market. Demand continues to outpace supply as more buyers enter the market.
Meanwhile, the prices for all grades rose by at least a cent despite mill buyers widening spreads to cut the hike. That said, buying quantities are still subdued as mills struggle to churn through inventory over labor issues.
The weekly Davis Index spread for UBC widened by 1.8¢/lb to 69.2¢/lb under the Midwest transaction price. Outright prices for this grade increased by 1.2¢/lb to 88.4¢/lb delivered US consumer. The index for 5052 clips widened by 1.3¢/lb to 16.3/lb under Midwest while its transaction prices rose by 1.7¢/lb to $1.413/lb delivered.
Mixed low-copper clips (MLC) spreads widened by 0.8¢/lb under Midwest. The spread for 6063 new, bare extrusion tightened by the same amount to 13.8/lb under the Midwest transaction price. Weekly outright prices for this grade rose to $1.438/lb delivered US consumer, up 3.8¢/lb.