US domestic secondary aluminum scrap prices varied over the past week as prices for some grades increased following tightness in primary scrap while other fell on supply abundance.
The weekly Davis Index for old sheet fell by 0.7¢/lb to 73.3¢/lb delivered US consumer while old cast inched up by 0.5¢/lb to 72.7¢/lb delivered. In line with their respective mill-grades, secondary MLC settled at 89.5¢/lb delivered, soaring by 10.2¢/lb and painted siding fell by 0.3¢/lb to 81¢/lb delivered.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Wednesday at $2,474/mt ($1.109/lb), up by $28/mt from May 5.
Regional variance has also crept in since freight now makes up for a big part of the all-in cost for scrap. Still, supply has remained level while demand continues to grow on one hand while some smelters are trying to pull the market lower after piling up on inventories on the other. As a result, some price weakness is expected.
The lack of exports continues to leave more scrap for the domestic market. Shortage of semiconductor chips continues to bear on the market for scrap ingots but secondary alloys prices remain high.
Zorba prices were unchanged at 62¢/lb delivered in an oversupplied shredded scrap market. The index for twitch rose by 1¢/lb to 80.3¢/lb delivered.