The weekly US aluminum mill prices increased on Tuesday after the LME rose to its highest point for the year. Scrap aluminum mill spreads, however, witnessed up or down movement depending on grades. Mills are concerned with scrap flows tightening moving into the winter months and states looking at ways to reduce the rising cases of COVID-19 infections with a new round of restrictions.
The spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips was wider by 0.6¢/lb at 5¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for the grade increased to 88¢/lb delivered US consumer. The index for 5052 increased to 90.1/lb with the spread flat at 1.9¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract mark.
The spread for scrap 6063 narrowed by 0.4¢/lb to 3.7¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract, while the index for the grade increased to 89¢/lb delivered US consumer. The weekly spread for mill-grade MLC was tighter at 25.7¢/lb, better by 0.9¢/lb, while the index for the category rose to 67.3¢/lb delivered.
The three-month LME Aluminium contract closed on Tuesday at $2,052.50/mt, up by $71.50/mt from $1,981/mt on Nov 24. With the LME market moving to its high for the year, mills plan to widen spreads but are not fighting too hard with supply concerns. Some suppliers are happy to offload material at a higher number ahead of the year-end, while others wait to see if the market pushes even higher in the short term.