Weekly US buying spreads for mill and extrusion grade scrap weakened over the past week as the market resisted an incline in the Midwest Transaction price following a recovery in LME Aluminium.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Tuesday at $2,461.50/mt ($1.116/lb), up by $120/mt from May 25.
The market remained quiet over the past week with traders stepping away for the Memorial Day holiday. Besides, mill inventory remains high leading to weak demand. Ample availability of most scrap grades, such as UBCs has driven spreads wider from last week. Demand from end industries is also comparatively slower due to the impact of slowing body sheet demand in the auto sector.
The weekly Davis Index spread for 1100 & 3003 clips weakened by 5¢/lb to 16.3¢/lb under Midwest while transaction prices for the grade increased by 1¢/lb to $1.229/lb delivered.
Meanwhile, the spread for mill-grade MLC widened by 3¢/lb to 46.3¢/lb under the Midwest transaction price. Outright prices for the grade were at 92.9¢/lb delivered US consumer, up by 3.3¢/lb. The spread for painted siding also widened by 3.8¢/lb to 49.8¢/lb under Midwest.
Scrap supply remains extremely limited in the extrusion market and spreads have widened after no trades were reported. 6063 bare is now trading close to 11¢/lb under, unlike the single-digit spreads seen in May. Spreads for 6063 new bare extrusion scrap weakened by 3¢/lb to 11.3¢/lb under Midwest. Transaction prices settled at $1.279/lb delivered, up by 3.1¢/lb on Tuesday.