India: Aluminium alloy ingot prices remain firm w-o-w

Domestic aluminium alloy ingot ADC12 prices remained stable w-o-w at INR 196,000/tonne (t) exw-Faridabad excluding GST this week. The market experienced a notable decline in transaction volumes owing to sluggish demand, thereby reinforcing the consistent trend in prices.

Prices of alloy ingots remained unchanged demonstrating lack of fluctuation amid limited trading.

Why prices remain stable?

Based on information gathered by SteelMint, production levels in northern and western India have declined due to sluggish demand.

"In the future, particularly for Zorba grade, there is a possibility of achieving favourable scrap realisations. The price of Zorba has experienced a notable decrease of $80/t w-o-w, reaching $1,820/t. This decline could potentially lead to increased import volumes into India. However, considering the current market condition, bids for Zorba remain low", a trader source informed SteelMint.

Maruti Suzuki has announced settlement prices for aluminium ADC12 alloy ingots for June recently. According to sources, prices have been reduced by INR 500/t m-o-m to INR 206,900/t. However, there was an anticipation that prices could decline by INR 2,000-3,000/t but they did not meet the market's expectations, resulting in lesser impact on local scrap prices. The potential impact can be observed in the upcoming price announcement," SteelMint learned from sources.

Price trend

The price of silicon 553 metal is currently at INR 190,000/t ex-Delhi, with 30-45 days' payment terms excluding GST, informed a source.

India's domestic aluminium scrap prices continued to remain range-bound d-o-d. Tense prices stood at INR 162,500/t ($1,970/t) while taint tabor prices were at INR 163,500/t ($1,981/t), both exy-Delhi (excluding GST).

ADC12 prices of primary major producers are: BALCO - INR 221,200/t and NALCO - INR 223,150/t, exw.

Futures market scenario

The three-month aluminium futures and spot prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hovered at around $2,200-2,280/t w-o-w.

Prices were at around $2,216/t at the time of reporting, down $30/t w-o-w as against $2,240-2,250/t on 31 May.

Stocks in LME-registered warehouse were recorded at 589,475 t on yesterday's closing, up by around 9,950 t w-o-w.