US aluminum scrap spreads for mill and extrusion grades of scrap narrowed over the past week amid scrap supply disruptions.
Trading activity has slowed down due to frigid temperatures and snowstorms in regions across the US. Many scrapyards have shut shop due to inclement weather, leading to a tightening in scrap flows. Buyers who were still in the market for scrap were forced to pay higher prices given these supply constraints.
Transaction prices of scrap were also lifted by a rising LME. The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,077/mt (94.2¢/lb), up $32/mt from $2,045/mt on Feb 9.
The weekly Davis Index spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3033 clips tightened by 5.2¢/lb to 10.1¢/lb under the midwest transaction price. The outright price index for the grade was at 99.3¢/lb delivered US consumer, up by 6.7¢/lb.
The weekly Davis Index for mill-grade MLC increased by 3.2¢/lb to 76.9¢/lb delivered while the spread for the grade was tighter by 1.7¢/lb at 32.5¢/lb under Midwest.
The Davis Index spread for 6063 new bare widened by 1.7¢/lb to 13.9¢ under Midwest while the outright price rose by 0.8¢/lb to 96.5¢/lb delivered US consumer.