LME price ping-pong continues; Billet premiums fall further in US & Europe

1. LME prices rebound to the upper end of the prevailing range-trading zone.

2. ALERT! – US BILLET. NO RECOVERY EXPECTED: US billet spot offers reach... cent/lb; there is poor appetite to lock in 2024 business.

3. ALERT! – EUROPEAN BILLET. FRESH LOWS: EU billet premiums fall for the fifth consecutive week.

To see our full European Billet Market Intel and Premiums assessment, subscribe to HARBOR’s specialized “European Billet Intelligence” reports.

4. RERUN: ALERT! – EUROPEAN P1020. FRESH TWO-YEAR LOWS: Rotterdam P1020 premium plummets to $... per mton.

For more details, please see HARBOR’s “Alert! – European P1020” released yesterday.

5. ALERT! – EUROPE SCRAP. UNPROFITABLE: D226 prices drop to two-year lows, secondary smelting margins in pain.

For more details, subscribe to HARBOR’s specialized “Europe Scrap Intelligence” reports.

6. ALERT! – US TURNINGS. BEARISH CLOUDS: Deox market flashing trouble for Turnings.

For more details, subscribe to HARBOR’s specialized “US and Mexico Aluminum Scrap Intelligence” report.

7. UPDATE! – WORLD SMELTING PRODUCTION COST. HIGHER: Oil and thermal coal prices push up aluminum smelting costs.

For more details on world aluminum smelting cost trends and figures, subscribe to HARBOR’s “Aluminum Smelting Cost” report.

8. SHFE aluminum prices rebound toward recent one-year highs, still testing the upper end of their trading range.

9. LME Cash-3M contango narrows to two-week lows while far-end spreads tighten further (unsupportive for premiums).