US domestic secondary aluminum scrap prices moved up across grades in tandem with the LME Aluminum market which reached three-year highs on Wednesday. However, shredded scrap prices declined slightly.
The weekly Davis Index for old sheet rose by 1.4¢/lb to 74¢/lb delivered while old cast inched up by 0.7¢/lb to 72.5¢/lb delivered.
Prices of grades that are sensitive to primary scrap movement jumped with secondary MLC settling at 82.5¢/lb delivered, up by 6¢/lb while the index for painted siding soared by 9.3¢/lb to 84¢/lb delivered.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled on Wednesday at $2,392.5/mt ($1.085/lb), up by $48.5/mt from Apr 21. Notably, this price has increased by $180/mt from Apr 1.
Zorba prices fell by 0.5¢/lb to 62.5¢/lb delivered as supply increased following subdued imports. The index for twitch fell by 0.2¢/lb to 78.5¢/lb delivered.
Notably, twitch and old cast prices are subdued due to the continuing shortage of semiconductor chips that could force die casters to pause production if the situation worsens. Moreover, the crisis could lead to lower demand for secondary alloys. Still, the market remains bullish about commodity prices in the near term amid strong fundamentals and a good flow of scrap at this price level.