Prices for US secondary aluminum smelter scrap increased for most grades over the week. Supply continues to tighten, while demand has its lost momentum for some grades as smelters have backfilled some inventory against their order books. Long-term needs are hard to decipher for now, with COVID-19 infections rising fast heading into the holiday season.
The weekly Davis Index for Zorba moved up by 4.3¢/lb to 61.8¢/lb delivered US consumer. Tweak climbed by 1.2¢/lb to 63.2¢/lb delivered, and Twitch jumped to 69.8¢/lb delivered, up by 0.7¢/lb, all recording highs for the year, delivered US consumers.
The US ferrous market’s December trade has been robust with the market settling up $50-90/gt depending on the region. This uptick in ferrous pricing should help bring more scrap, which in turn could generate more shredded aluminum scrap moving forward.
The index for Old Cast moved up by 1.2¢/lb to 58.5¢/lb delivered US consumer on Wednesday, and Old Sheet increased by 1.9¢/lb to 58.2¢/lb delivered. The Davis Index for high-grade turnings increased by 1.2¢/lb to 52.2¢/lb delivered. In comparison, 2000/7000 series turnings moved down by half-a-penny to 46.4¢/lb delivered US consumer on Wednesday.
The three-month LME Aluminium contract closed at $2,027.50/mt, down by $34.50/mt from $2,062/mt on Dec 2.