Prices for US secondary aluminum scrap rose on Wednesday amid robust demand from secondary smelters.
The weekly Davis Index for old cast increased by 3.1¢/lb to 70.7¢/lb delivered US consumer while old sheet rose by 3.8¢/lb to 70¢/lb delivered. The rise was fueled by higher bids from smelters that were chasing scrap more aggressively this week and by the increase in LME Aluminium prices.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Wednesday at $2,202.50/mt ($1/lb), up by $53/mt from Mar 10.
Some market participants reported better scrap flows this week and expect the up $50-70/gt ferrous pricing to buoy scrap inflow in the coming weeks. Still, freight remains a pressing issue with dealers losing margins due to high trucking costs.
Zorba prices increased by 1.5¢/lb to 66.5¢/lb delivered as the supply of shredded material was tighter than other grades. The weekly index for twitch also moved up by 1.6¢/lb to 79.5¢/lb delivered.
The Davis Index for high-grade turnings rose by 2.7¢/lb to 68.7¢/lb delivered while mixed 2000/7000 series turnings settled at 65.2¢/lb, up by 4.5¢/lb from last week.