Prices for both new steel and aluminium scrap materials continued to rise across the UK and Europe in the week to Friday July 16, amid further manufacturing disruptions, causing the global scrap supply deficit to worsen.
Manufacturing shutdowns and automotive supply chain halts - and increased demand for aluminium products, which are commanding record-high premiums - have created a huge imbalance in market fundamentals across Europe, in turn raising the price for the scrap that is available.
"Aluminium scrap is like gold," one UK-based smelter told Fastmarkets "The situation is desperate."
Fastmarkets assessed the price of
aluminium scrap, group 1 pure 99% & litho, delivered consumer UK, at ?1,515-1,545 ($2,085-2,126) per tonne on July 14, its highest since Fastmarkets began assessing the grade more than 20 years ago.
Car production down on supply disruptions
Domestic production figures from the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) remained low over the month of June, at 247,400 units. This was a year-on-year decrease of 19%.
Because of the lower manufacturing rates, less pre-consumer ferrous and non-ferrous scrap has entered circulation over the past month.
"[Scrap...