LME price holds inside expected support zone; European billet demand in contraction mode

1. LME prices up marginally today but down 3.8% w/w. Technically, interim support remains in place at $2,300–$2,350 per mton.

2. China’s aluminum prices unchanged around technical support levels.

3. EUROPEAN BILLET ALERT. FREE FALL: European billet demand plummeting as extruders see order declines of 50%–60% y/y.

To see our full European Billet Market Intel and Premiums assessment, please subscribe to our specialized European Billet Intelligence Report.

4. EUROPEAN SCRAP ALERT. FROZEN: Scrap and secondary ingot business halted amid poor demand visibility.

To see our full market intel on the European scrap market, please subscribe to our specialized Europe Scrap Intelligence Report.

5. US PFA ALERT. MUTED: US PFA spot upcharge unchanged.

6. US ROLLING MILL ALERT. CIRCUMVENTION INQUIRY: US launches anti-circumvention investigation on foil imports from Thailand and South Korea.

For more details, please subscribe to our specialized Aluminum Rolled Products Intelligence Report.

7. US SCRAP ALERT. EXPORTING: Some scrap items finding better demand abroad.

For more details, please subscribe to our specialized US and Mexico Aluminum Scrap Intelligence Report.

8. GREEN ALUMINUM MONITOR: Green and Super Green Billet Momentum.

For more details and additional green initiatives, please see HARBOR’s Green Aluminum Monitor released earlier today.

9. LME Cash–3M contango widens to one-week high; far end contango widens.