Prices of secondary aluminum smelter scrap delivered US decreased on Wednesday on tepid demand.
The weekly Davis Index for 2000/7000 solids dropped to 36.6¢/lb delivered US smelters on Wednesday, from 37.3¢/lb delivered on April 8. The index for old sheet decreased by 0.08¢/lb to 34.3¢/lb delivered US and fell by 0.7¢/lb to 34.6¢/lb delivered US for old cast.
The Davis Index for secondary MLC was down by 0.9¢/lb to 36.4¢/lb delivered US and decreased for tweak, twitch, and zorba with tweak decreasing by 0.7¢/lb to 31¢/lb delivered, twitch dropping by 0.7¢/lb to 33.8¢/lb delivered and zorba declining by 0.9¢/lb to 29.7¢/lb delivered.
Weak demand amid reduced operations or temporary shutdowns of scrap yards and smelters has been hurting the secondary aluminum scrap market in the US. As India looks at reopening the economy after almost a month’s lockdown, some market participants are also concerned about the added pressure on business and prices because of competition from the Asian country.
The official three-month LME aluminum contract closed at $1,508/mt on Wednesday, up by $48/mt from $1,460/mt on April 8.