The weekly Davis Index for A380.1 rose by 0.4¢/lb on Friday to $1.182/lb delivered US consumer following a wide range of deals at $1.17-1.19¢/lb.
A380.1, despite being the most stable of all secondary alloy grades this month, has risen by almost 20¢/lb over the past seven months after breaching the $1/lb mark in December 2020.
Demand for alloys has been steady in the past week despite regional disparity with at least a 2¢/lb difference across US states. As most smelters now look to shut all or half their production lines for summer maintenance, the supply of spot material will tighten in the near term. Besides, the shortage of labor has already strained output volumes.
The index for A356.1 rose by 0.8¢/lb to $1.398/lb delivered US consumer while A413.1 declined by 0.7¢/lb to $1.38¢/lb delivered. A360.1 increased by 1.2¢/lb to $1.389/lb delivered while the weekly index for 319.1 settled at $1.275/lb delivered, up by 1.3¢/lb.
Prices are not expected to move much despite tightening supply because producers have already priced their material to compensate for the downtime at smelters. However, a spike in demand could prove the market wrong in this aspect. Freight will continue to drive prices, and most deals are now made around the feasibility of logistics.