Tag: Midwest premium

AMU's May survey results showed higher obsolete scrap availability as respondents continued reporting elevated freight costs and UBC price expectations moderated.

Global shipping volatility is tightening its grip on metal supply chains. And the risks are not easing; in fact, they’re escalating, according to Anton Posner, CEO of Mercury Resources.

The LME price for aluminum spiked at the start of the US/Israel war on Iran and has lately hovered around $3,400-$3,600 per ton, not yet breaching $4,000.

LME and Midwest premiums are rising, and a conflict in Iran is just one of several challenges the market is facing.

There’s a lot of news to keep track of, so we’re lending a hand with highlights from the past month and what they mean for you.

Midwest aluminum premiums are converging with replacement costs as Gulf supply risks lift duty-paid import replacement near $1.05 per pound.

Markets have been taken aback by the intensity of the conflict and the Iranian retaliatory strikes on at least 14 different countries. Investors were also shaken by the severe disruptions to oil and gas flows coming out of the Persian Gulf.

The Oklahoma aluminum smelter project backed by Emirates Global Aluminium and Century Aluminum appears to be advancing toward a power deal, though elevated electricity costs and high Midwest premiums continue to complicate the economics.

Cheap aluminum scrap has not triggered widespread buying due to saturated demand, chemistry limits, and limited processing capacity.

February aluminum imports fell sharply despite strong Midwest premium incentives, leaving US inventories at roughly two weeks of demand and raising the risk of higher physical premiums amid tight supply and geopolitical uncertainty.