Aluminum mill prices delivered US consumers declined slightly on a drop in LME Aluminium prices, while spreads stabilized with minor tightening in some grades. Scrap flows have been sufficient for the current levels of demand.
The spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips tightened by half a penny to 4.8¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for the grade decreased by 0.2¢/lb to 77.5¢/lb delivered US consumer. The index for 5052 also fell by 0.2¢/lb to 80.5¢/lb, with the spread for the grade narrowing by 0.1¢/lb to 1.5¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract mark.
The spread for scrap 6063 narrowed to 3.5¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract, while the index for the grade decreased by 0.1¢/lb to 78.7¢/lb delivered US consumer. The weekly spread for mill-grade MLC tightened by a penny to 27.5¢/lb, while the index for the category decreased by 0.7¢/lb to 55.3¢/lb delivered US consumer.
Mill grade painted siding declined by 0.5¢/lb to 52.7¢/lb delivered, while the spread was tighter by 1¢/lb at 27.5¢/lb under the three-month LME contract.
The three-month LME Aluminium contract closed on Tuesday at $1,823/mt, down from $1,844/mt on Oct 20.
The market is balanced heading into the US presidential election, which has dominated market trends over the last couple of weeks and has resulted in a wait and see holding pattern for the aluminum industry. The metal’s versatility has market participants hopeful about a strong market with either outcome on the election, but the path towards that strength will depend on who wins the White House in a week.