Secondary aluminium ingot prices in Europe fell to their lowest level since November 23, 2018 on April 12 and European scrap prices, having previously held relatively firm, finally fell in line.
Fastmarkets assessed the premium for European aluminium pressure, die-casting ingot DIN226/A380, at ?,?1,430-1,470 per tonne on a delivered consumer-works basis on Friday April 12, down ?,?10 per tonne at the top end from ?,?1,430-1,480 per tonne the previous week.While the aluminium-226 price has steadily declined to its current ?,?1,430-1,470-per-tonne level from ?,?1,470-1,530 per tonne on February 22, the price of European scrap grades fell at a slower pace over the same period. The dichotomy between the rate of decline in scrap and ingot prices has effected a squeeze on ingot producers' margins because they have had to consume scrap at higher price levels while selling resultant ingot lower, thus reducing their profit margins. Producers' narrowing margins come...