US secondary smelter grades continued to lose traction as demand from most buyers declined, despite a jump in LME Aluminium prices during the week. Bids fell by 1-2¢/lb for most items but some had firm offers and prices held rather steady.
The weekly Davis Index for old sheet moved up 0.9¢/lb to 68.2¢/lb delivered US consumer while old cast slipped a 0.3¢/lb to 67.4¢/lb delivered. Secondary MLC declined 0.7¢/lb to 71.3¢/lb delivered. The Davis Index for painted siding (secondary) rose 0.6¢/lb to 70.3¢/lb delivered. Meanwhile, high-grade turnings decreased 1.1¢/lb to 66.1¢/lb delivered.
The official LME Aluminium cash price settled Wednesday at $2,575/mt ($1.16/lb), up by $49/mt from Jul 28.
The index for Twitch increased by a penny to 75.5¢/lb delivered with the highest sales of heavy media floated material made at 78¢/lb. Transactions for dry separations were heard at 72.5¢/lb. The Davis Index for Zorba 95/2 domestic settled at 64.4¢/lb, fallen by 0.9¢/lb.
At the start of this week, GM re-initiated a shutdown across its US facilities, with market participants reporting that most other brands have made similar moves. Due to this, diecasters have curtailed production by around 30pc, which in turn has led to lower demand for secondary alloys. Besides, smelters aren’t buying at large because they aren’t able to burn inventory due to labor issues.