Aluminum mill scrap prices inched up on Tuesday after the LME Aluminium market moved up. The spreads for scrap aluminum stabilized with some movement in specific grades, but nothing more than half a penny. Mills are concerned with scrap flows that could tighten moving into the winter months, after a summer where scrap flows were off by 10pc or more depending on the grade and location.
The spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips was flat at 4.8¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract on Tuesday, unchanged from a week ago, while the weekly Davis Index for the grade increased by 1.2¢/lb to 81.4¢/lb delivered US consumer. The Davis Index for 5052 moved up by 3¢/lb to 84.7¢/lb delivered, while the spread was flat at 1.7¢/lb, unchanged from a week ago, under the three-month LME Aluminium contract.
The spread for scrap 6063 widened by 0.1¢/lb to 4¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract, while the index for the grade increased by 0.8¢/lb to 82.7¢/lb delivered US consumer. The weekly spread for mill-grade MLC was better by 0.2¢/lb at 27.3¢/lb under the same LME contract while the index for the category rose by 0.5¢/lb to 58.7¢/lb delivered US consumer.
The official three-month LME Aluminium contract closed on Tuesday at $1,900/mt, up from $1,891/mt on Nov 3, stronger by $9/mt.
The change in weather in the US Midwest and the continued spread of COVID-19 infections has the market concerned about the scrap flows during the colder months in the US.Prompting mills to leave the spreads unchanged for the most part despite the strength seen in the LME market over the week.