Prices for US secondary aluminum scrap were trended sideways as supply and demand balanced.
The weekly Davis Index for old cast settled at 71.8¢/lb delivered US consumer, up by 0.1¢/lb while old sheet increased by 0.6¢/lb to 72.6¢/lb delivered.
Some secondary smelters have now built reasonable inventories and are not chasing scrap as aggressively. Demand for secondary alloys has remained strong hence buying prices have not fallen much despite increased scrap flows.
The weekly Davis Index for high-grade turnings settled at 69.8¢/lb delivered, up by 0.1¢/lb while mixed 2000/7000 series turnings fell by a penny to settle at 63¢/lb delivered. The index for MLC was the only grade to see a 1.4¢/lb increase to 76.4¢/lb delivered amid strong demand.
Zorba held unchanged at 63¢/lb delivered while the index for Tweak moved up by 0.5¢/lb to 73.5¢/lb. Twitch fell by 2.6¢/lb to 78.7¢/lb delivered. Secondary smelters noted that the market is flooded with zorba and related shredded scrap, which is not currently shipping in large quantities to other countries due to logistics issues.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Wednesday at $2,344/mt ($1.063/lb), up by $36.50/mt from Apr 14.