The freefall in aluminium scrap prices could soon reach its bottom and stabilize, European secondary aluminium market participants told Fastmarkets this week.
The combined impact of the trade war between the United States and China and fundamental changes in how the Chinese consume scrap has led to a flood of aluminium scrap entering the global market, pushing the price of some grades to their lowest levels since 2009, they saidIn China, the import tariffs and changes in consumption habits have led to a tighter domestic scrap market and sources told Fastmarkets that scrap exports to China are slowly starting to increase as a result. "The Chinese market is an interesting one," a scrap merchant in Europe said. "They're struggling for volumes due to the import duties...