India's imported aluminium scrap price falls due to weak demand

The Indian imported aluminium scrap market has recently experienced a downturn, a trend closely aligned with the decline observed in futures exchanges and limited domestic demand.

UK and European suppliers have introduced varying price ranges for aluminium scrap. This variance or divergence has made the suppliers pause before acting.

According to information obtained from a key buyer source, most market participants are traders who strategically acquire materials during periods of lower pricing, thereby introducing a moderate level of selling pressure and facilitating the prevalence of discounts in response to market dynamics. On the other hand, specific purchasers from the Far East have shown an upward trend in their pricing bids, culminating in recent contract closings following the resumption of activity in the Chinese market.

In parallel, the market has experienced a slowdown in the sales of finished materials, resulting in a constrained volume of scrap transactions. Domestic alloy producers have also responded to the prevailing market conditions by scaling back their production capacity. This reduction in production capacity is a strategic response to the current market dynamics and contributes to the overall scenario of limited activity within the market for finished materials.

Significantly, wheel aluminium scrap offerings from the western region have attracted the interest of a specific group of recyclers, characterized by a pricing structure that blends discounts and premiums. Meanwhile, the prevailing buyer bids are notably conservative in their valuation. This divergence between seller and buyer pricing positions has led to a distinct bid-offer disparity, resulting in a marked absence of price uniformity in the market. This pricing fluctuation introduces challenges for buyers seeking to ascertain a fair and equitable market value for wheel aluminium scrap, as indicated by insights from industry sources.

The Chinese market is also back in operation after the mid-autumn festival vacation. Despite this, price disparity has been observed due to the absence of clarity.

India’s aluminium scrap market did not change significantly when butted against the previous day’s closing price, reflecting constant behaviour. The price for tense scrap was INR 156,000 per tonne, whereas for utensil scrap ex-Delhi, excluding GST, was INR 14,4000 per tonne. The suppliers are suggested by the key market giants in the aluminium industry to hold on to their prices for the time being as the domestic demand is slow.

Listed below are some of the current deals regarding aluminium:

• Nearly 50 tonnes of UK-origin TT scrap with 2 per cent attachment sold at $1,665 per tonne, CIF West Coast.
• Nearly 50 tonnes of US-origin TT HRB with 2-3 per cent attachment sold at $1,665 per tonne, CIF West Coast.
• Extrusion scrap of around 200 tonnes from Australia with 1 per cent attachment was sold at LME3M’s, 94 per cent, CIF Chennai.
• A 200-tonne Australian-origin TT 2% sold at LME3M’s 78 per cent CIF Kolkata
• 100 tonne of UK-origin shredded TT with 1-2 per cent attachment sold out at $1,800 per tonne CIF Mundra
• Malaysia-origin aluminium talk of nearly 80 tonnes was traded at $4,290 CIF Mundra.