13 AUGUST 2012Platts
Aluminum alloy spot prices gained Euro10/mt due to tight scrap supply
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
Aluminum alloy spot prices gained a further Eur10/mt ($12/mt) in Europe this week on tight summer supply and firm scrap prices. Secondary aluminum plants in France, Italy, Spain, parts of southern Germany and the UK are closed for summer turnarounds, making additional spot tonnes difficult to secure, sources said Wednesday.
"There's not much material around and we saw some buyers seeking extra quantities for August and September this week," said a German alloy producer, who explained that with most southern European alloy plants out of action extra supplies were "not easy to get."
Those few spot buyers in the market were looking for prices of around Eur1,720-1,730/mt delivered works but bids were rejected.
A trade source agreed that the spot price tendency was moving "higher," partly because of reduced summer supply, and also because of the continued lack of scrap in the market.
"Scrap is a problem. If you don't pay the right price the dealers just export it to the Asian market," said the trader.
One German producer said that he expected to see prices move up to Eur1,800/mt or even Eur1,900/mt in autumn/winter 2012.
A diecaster said that once the southern European producers returned to the market he expected that competition for sales would put prices under pressure.
Demand remained stable this week with a few extra spot lots required by some German casting companies, sources said.
The Platts physical spot assessment for standard grade 226 increased by Eur10 to Eur1,740-1,790/mt delivered Germany, including 30 days' credit.
In the scrap market there were rumors circulating that global steel trader Stemcor and Germany-based international scrap recycler Scholz were looking to move into the UK metals recovery market by acquiring a stake in UK scrap company Metal & Waste, according to market sources.
All three companies involved declined comment.
A source with knowledge of Metal & Waste's business strategy admitted the company had been up for sale for a number of years, but believes a full takeover is still some time away.
"There's not much material around and we saw some buyers seeking extra quantities for August and September this week," said a German alloy producer, who explained that with most southern European alloy plants out of action extra supplies were "not easy to get."
Those few spot buyers in the market were looking for prices of around Eur1,720-1,730/mt delivered works but bids were rejected.
A trade source agreed that the spot price tendency was moving "higher," partly because of reduced summer supply, and also because of the continued lack of scrap in the market.
"Scrap is a problem. If you don't pay the right price the dealers just export it to the Asian market," said the trader.
One German producer said that he expected to see prices move up to Eur1,800/mt or even Eur1,900/mt in autumn/winter 2012.
A diecaster said that once the southern European producers returned to the market he expected that competition for sales would put prices under pressure.
Demand remained stable this week with a few extra spot lots required by some German casting companies, sources said.
The Platts physical spot assessment for standard grade 226 increased by Eur10 to Eur1,740-1,790/mt delivered Germany, including 30 days' credit.
In the scrap market there were rumors circulating that global steel trader Stemcor and Germany-based international scrap recycler Scholz were looking to move into the UK metals recovery market by acquiring a stake in UK scrap company Metal & Waste, according to market sources.
All three companies involved declined comment.
A source with knowledge of Metal & Waste's business strategy admitted the company had been up for sale for a number of years, but believes a full takeover is still some time away.
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