Some US mill-grade aluminum extruder scrap spreads narrowed on Tuesday to keep tight winter scrap flows moving. A decline in the three-month LME aluminum contract resulted in lower transactional prices for extruder scrap.
The Davis Index spread for A356 scrap wheels tightened to 25¢/lb under LME on Tuesday, with outright prices for the grade decreasing by a penny from last week to 54¢/lb.
Spreads for mill-grade MLC tightened by a penny to 30¢/lb, while the Index for mill-grade painted siding spreads held at 32¢/lb.
Transactions on both grades were priced at 48¢/lb for mill-grade MLC and 46¢/lb for painted siding. The spreads for Litho sheet scrap remained at 16.5¢/lb with outright pricing for the grade decreasing by 2¢/lb to 63¢/lb.
The Davis Index spreads for 6063 extrusion scrap were tighter by 1.5¢ at 8.5¢/lb, with spot prices flat at 70¢/lb. The spreads for UBCs remained at 26.5¢/lb with outright pricing down by 2¢/lb on Tuesday in the 52-53¢/lb range across most of the US.
The grades with tighter spreads helped offset the drop in the three-month LME aluminum contract, which closed Tuesday at 77.06¢/lb, down from 78.50¢/lb, a week ago.
The virus outbreak in China still has the potential to interrupt the supply chain globally, which has many in the industry feeling uncertain about how to position themselves in the near term.