Aluminum scrap, alloy prices fall further

Free-market secondary aluminum alloy prices drifted down again Monday, with producers struggling to hold the line on higher quotes as mill-grade scrap tags dropped due to a sustained lull in London Metal Exchange pricing.

A319.1 slipped to a range of $1.02 to $1.04 per pound from $1.03 to $1.04 previously, while A360.1 and A413.1 fell to $1.05 to $1.07 per pound from $1.06 to $1.08.

Meanwhile, segregated 3105 clippings weakened to 75 to 77 cents per pound from 76 to 78 cents previously and mill-grade mixed low-copper clippings fell to a range of 74 to 76 cents per pound from 75 to 77 cents.

The LMEs North American special aluminum alloy contract (Nasaac) cash price ended Tuesday’s official session at $1,801 per tonne (81.7 cents per pound), down 0.4 percent from $1,809 per tonne (82.1 cents per pound) at the end of last week.

Alloy producers said that the A380.1 market could drift even further from its current range of 97 to 98 cents per pound, with one alloy producer saying that 96 cents is a feasible transaction price for short-distance deliveries.

One die caster said that he had been offered Nasaac material at 91.5 cents per pound delivered.

We’re hearing numbers and we’re trying to hold prices because there’s resistance on scrap, but sometimes we have to sell a little cheaper for regular customers," a second alloy producer said.

Producers continued to report frustration with the ongoing decline in prices, with demand from consumers still relatively strong.