The Indian market for imported aluminium scrap has experienced a recent price decline, attributed to a drop in futures despite constrained material availability. Prices across all grades of aluminium scrap have notably decreased by as much as $140 per tonne on a week-over-week basis.
As per BigMint's assessment, tense scrap of Middle East origin, specifically from the UAE, has decreased by US$20 per tonne to US$1,700 per tonne. Meanwhile, scrap prices from the US have dropped by US$15 per tonne, currently standing at US$1,760 per tonne, w-o-w.
Moreover, the bid-offer dynamics for specific scrap grades exhibit inconsistencies, introducing an element of uncertainty into the market; market participants are in a wait-and-watch mode, and sources are conveyed to BigMint.
The three-month futures for aluminium are US$2,218 per tonne, down by US$50-60 per tonne w-o-w. Aluminium inventories in LME warehouses closed at 531,175 tonnes (down 1.2 per cent w-o-w). Talk scrap from the Middle East, and the US has decreased by up to $140/t.
This fall was due to the recent decrease in copper's three-month LME cash prices. Currently, copper LME prices are hovering at $8,373/t, down $240-$250/t w-o-w. China-origin silicon 553 prices are around $2,070/t CIF Mundra, down $40/t. Silicon prices are anticipated to remain stable from this week until 16 February due to the Lunar New Year.
Domestic market
In the domestic space, scarcity of raw materials, particularly tense scrap, has kept prices on the higher side. Tense scrap prices are at INR 166,000/t, while utensil scrap prices are at INR 167,000/t exy-Delhi (excluding GST).
Recently, a major automobile company announced its monthly settlement price for ADC12, which increased by INR 8,500/t to INR 199,500/t for February 2024, which has been absorbed in the market this week, making alloy ingot prices to rise to INR 204,000-205,000/t recently in the northern region, excluding GST.
Recent deals
South American origin taint tabor HRB 3% was sold at $1,785-1,790/t around 100 t to CIF Chennai and Mundra recently. USA-origin aluminium talk was heard traded at 53% of LME 3M, 40-45 t CIF Mundra.
Sourced from SteelMint under the content exchange agreement
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