The weekly Davis Index for A380.1 rose by 0.9¢/lb on Friday to $1.182/lb delivered US consumer amid increased demand from the auto industry. Offers were heard at $1.20/lb.
Secondary smelters have scheduled maintenance outages for July. Still, some smelters have decided to forego this annual process to meet market demand. While spot deals are few, market prices for secondary alloys have been ticking up due to strained labor and silicon availability. Many smelters report a shortage in production compared to what the market needs today. This will only get worse once the automotive sector returns from the summer shutdown.
The index for A356.1 inched up by 0.4¢/lb to $1.402/lb delivered US consumer amid few spot deals. A413.1 rose by a cent to $1.39¢/lb delivered. The index for A360.1 was flat at $1.389/lb delivered, while the weekly index for 319.1 moved up to $1.278/lb delivered, up by 0.3¢/lb.
The weekly Davis Index for B390 rose by a penny to settle at $1.415/lb delivered but quotes are as high as $1.44/lb from most participants since this silicon intensive material is hard to produce right now. A big producer is heard to have planned to exit from this market, which will further cut supply and drive up prices. Market participants believe that this alloy has lost the applications it used to have, hence demand has suffered recently.