US aluminum mill scrap spreads were flat for most grades over the week as the LME leveled off. The LME market has lost ground from its peak of $2,062/mt on Dec 12, with prices now hovering around the $2,000/mt mark.
The market remains quiet between the Christmas and New Year holidays. Most suppliers are confident of a recovery in the LME market and hopeful of obtaining higher prices in January.
The spread for mill-grade 1100 & 3003 clips was flat at 0.3¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for the grade decreased to 90.6¢/lb delivered US consumer. The Davis Index for 5052 declined to 93.4¢/lb with the spread holding at 2.6¢/lb, above the three-month LME Aluminium contract mark, unchanged from a week ago.
The spread for scrap 6063 was tighter by 0.1¢/lb at 0.2/lb above the three-month LME Aluminium contract, while the index for the grade decreased to 91.2¢/lb delivered US consumer. The weekly spread for mill-grade MLC was flat at 21.7¢/lb under the three-month LME Aluminium contract, while the index for the category ticked down by 0.1¢/lb to 69.2¢/lb delivered US consumer.
The three-month LME Aluminium contract closed at $2,004/mt on Tuesday, down by $2.50/mt from $2,006.50/mt on Dec 22.
Aluminum scrap availability remains limited, but mills have the volumes they need to cover short-term orders and have backfilled some raw material with P1020A, pushing further negotiations to after January 1, 2021, when both sides feel they will have the upper hand in getting what they want.