Prices for US secondary aluminum smelter scrap increased for most grades over the week. Tight supply is anticipated due to the winter months and spiking cases of COVID-19 across the US.
The weekly Davis Index for Zorba moved higher by 0.5¢/lb to 52.2¢/lb delivered US consumer, while Tweak increased by 1.8¢/lb to 55.8¢/lb delivered. The index for Twitch stayed unchanged at 64.3¢/lb delivered. All the shredder grades hit or matched their highs for the year.
The index for Old Cast inched up by 0.3¢/lb at 51.8¢/lb delivered US smelters on Tuesday, and Old Sheet increased by 0.9¢/lb to 50.4¢/lb delivered on Tuesday.
The Davis Index for high-grade turnings increased by a penny to 46.3¢/lb. Aerospace scrap is still incredibly tight with little activity in both the commercial and defense sectors. Supply and demand in this sector could remain tepid with the paradigm shift to less business travel.
The three-month LME Aluminium contract closed at $1,900/mt, up by $14.50/mt from $1,885.50/mt on Nov 3.
Some scrap dealers have stopped buying copper into their facilities due to tepid US consumer demand for the metal. With copper being the higher dollar item compared to aluminum, many suppliers may hold off on bringing in their scrap aluminum as well, looking to maximize the return on a trip to the scrapyard when facilities return to buying copper scrap but reducing scrap aluminum flows in the process.