Aluminum mill prices slid on Tuesday after LME Aluminum lost strength over the week to settle close to last week’s opening balance. Mill pricing was also impacted by the lower P1020A aluminum premium, which moved lower in response to the removal of the US tariffs on Canadian aluminum supply.
The spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips was flat at 4¢/lb under the three-month LME aluminum contract on Tuesday while the weekly Davis Index for the grade decreased by 2¢/lb to 75¢/lb delivered US consumer. The David Index for 5052 moved lower by 4¢/lb to 78¢/lb, with its spread widening by 0.6¢/lb to 1.9¢/lb under the three-month LME aluminum contract. Offers for this grade in Texas and the Southern region were higher by at least a penny but did not elicit any interest from mills.
The spread for scrap 6063 was weaker by 0.5¢/lb at 5¢/lb under the three-month LME aluminum contract, while the index for the grade decreased by 0.4¢/lb to 76¢/lb delivered US consumer. The weekly spread for mill-grade MLC was worse by 0.5¢/lb at 25¢/lb, while the index for the category decreased by 0.7¢/lb to 55¢/lb delivered US consumer.
The Davis Index for mill grade painted siding moved down by 0.3¢/lb to 53¢/lb, while the spread widened by 0.3¢/lb to 28¢/lb under the three-month LME contract.
The three-month LME contract closed on Tuesday at $1,780/mt, down by $25.50/mt from $1,805.50/mt on Sep 22.
The market has gone quiet with scrap suppliers pulling their offers back until the market moves higher. However, in doing so they are exposing the levels of scrap availability and hurting their case in the short- to medium-term.