Prices for US secondary aluminum scrap tapered off on Wednesday as supply outweighed demand.
The weekly Davis Index for old cast declined by a penny to 71.7¢/lb delivered US consumer while old sheet fell by 0.5¢/lb to 72¢/lb delivered.
Secondary scrap flows have improved to the point where smelters are now pulling back prices as they now hold considerable inventories and are booking forward for some grades.
Demand for secondary alloys is strong as the semiconductor issue seems to have cooled down temporarily with General Motors and a few others restarting production at affected plants. Trucking costs continue to remain an obstacle for the market in this segment.
The weekly Davis Index for high-grade turnings settled at 69.7¢/lb delivered, down by 0.8¢/lb. The index for mixed 2000/7000 series clips also fell by the same amount to 64¢/lb delivered. Secondary MLC prices dropped by 1.3¢/lb to 75¢/lb delivered.
Shredded scrap prices continued to drop on abundant supply and a shortage of containers in the export market, which led to increased domestic spot sales. The index for zorba 95/2 fell by 1.5¢/lb to 63¢/lb delivered US consumer. However, Tweak rose by a cent to 73¢/lb delivered. Twitch prices fell to 81.3¢/lb delivered, down by 0.5¢/lb but some deals were confirmed as high as 83¢/lb for May deliveries.
The LME Aluminium cash price settled Wednesday at $2,297.50/mt ($1.04/lb), up by $58/mt from Apr 7.