India: Aluminium alloy ingot prices remain rangebound

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 limited transaction volume due to balanced supply-demand, resulting in prices being confined to a rangebound trend.

Prices of alloy ingots remained stagnant, showing no significant fluctuations, and experienced limited to moderate trading activities across various regions. Also due to a limited availability of domestic tense scrap, prices of alloy ingots remained steady, with only minor discounts are being offered.

According to the information gathered by SteelMint, the downstream industries, specifically the die-casting sector, encountered a decrease in trading activity due to their limited operational capacities.

Reliable sources have indicated that an additional influential aspect contributing to the stability of alloy ingot prices is the absence of exports, predominantly driven by a sluggish demand prevailing in the global market.

The price of silicon metal, China-origin, was recorded at $1,975/t CFR Mundra, which was down by $35/t w-o-w yesterday.

The Middle East-origin tense scrap (5-6% attachment) prices hovered around $1,650-1660/t and USA-origin taint tabor with 3-4% attachment was heard around $1,730-1,740 HRB CIF West coast India.

India's domestic aluminium scrap prices continued to remain range-bound d-o-d. Tense prices stood at INR 163,000/t ($1,973/t) while taint tabor prices were at INR 164,000/t ($1,983/t), both exy-Delhi (excluding GST). However, trade activities remained slow, participants await the P1020 price announcement by major players.

Currently, the A356 ingot grade prices are at INR 236,000/t with 0.15 fe, and ADC 6 ingot grade prices are at INR 205,000/t with credit payment terms, ex Faridabad, excluding GST, informed a reliable source.

The three-month aluminium futures and spot prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) hovered at around $2,200-2,250/t w-o-w.

It was around $2,223/t at the time of reporting, down by $10/t w-o-w as against $2,234-$2,236/t on 24 May, 2023.

The stocks in LME registered warehouse was recorded at 586,525 t on yesterday's closing, which was up by around 10,850 t w-o-w.

Outlook

It is anticipated that the future price announcement of ADC12 alloy ingots by Maruti will likely to exhibit a range-bound behaviour, suggesting that they are expected to remain within a specific price range without significant deviations.