US aluminum scrap spreads for mill grades widened for the second successive week as buyers decided to wait for LME cash offers to soften. However, spreads for extrusion grades were tighter this week.
Scrap flows remain tight but the recent volatility in the LME Aluminium market has led to an inactive market as buyers and sellers grapple to gauge outright prices. That said, the market expects activity to pick up as the spring season approaches.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,176/mt (98.7¢/lb), up $39.50/mt from $2,136.50/mt on Feb 23.
The weekly Davis Index spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips widened by 1.6¢/lb to 13.3¢/lb under the Midwest transaction price. The outright price for the grade inched up by 0.5¢/lb to $1.015/lb delivered US consumer.
The weekly index for mill-grade MLC fell by 0.7¢/lb to 81.2¢/lb delivered while the spread for the grade widened by 2.8¢/lb to 33.6¢/lb under Midwest.
On the other hand, the spread for 6063 new bare tightened by 4.9¢/lb to 10.3¢/lb under Midwest transaction price while the outright price for the grade increased by 8¢/lb to $1.045/lb delivered.