US aluminum scrap spreads for mill grades were unchanged this past week sending outright prices higher on the back of stronger LME aluminum prices.
Scrap flows have improved marginally over the past week in some regions with buyers reporting that more material was on offer. However, snow and inclement weather in parts of the Midwest and Northeast have affected transportation and dealers in these regions believe flows might tighten too.
Still, buyers kept spreads unchanged from last week, leading to an increase in outright prices across all mill grades.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,045/mt, up by $87/mt from $1,958/mt on Feb 2.
Meanwhile, the Davis Index spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3033 clips stayed flat at 15.3¢/lb under the midwest transaction price. The outright price index for the grade rose by 4.5¢/lb to 92.6¢/lb delivered US consumer.
The weekly Davis Index outright price for mill-grade MLC increased by 0.6¢/lb to 73.7¢.lb delivered on Tuesday, while the spread was unchanged at 34.2¢/lb under midwest.
The spread for 6063 was flat at 12.2¢/lb under midwest, while the outright price index for the grade rose by 0.2¢/lb to 95.7¢/lb delivered US consumer.