Page 76 from: November 2007

M A R K E T A N A L Y S I S

Non-Ferrous

Aluminium

Demand from the aluminium pro-
cessing industry remained high dur-
ing October as producers’ order
books were well-filled. With suffi-
cient aluminium scrap available,
secondary smelters have been oper-
ating at full capacity.

LME high-grade aluminium
prices have changed only marginally
in recent weeks – from around US$
2445 per tonne in mid-September to
US$ 2500 by late October. In Ger-
many, prices of high-grade alumini-
um advanced from US$ 2601 to US$
2736 per tonne, while aluminium
wire scrap (Achse) edged up to US$

2366 by early November. Alumini-
um turnings (Autor) have risen from
US$ 1477 to US$ 1527 per tonne.

In the UK, commercial pure cut-
tings were recently yielding US$
1853-1935 per tonne, while mixed
alloy/old rolled cuttings were at-
tracting US$ 1364-1405. Latest in-
dications suggest that the price
range for commercial turnings has
climbed from US$ 1217-1278 to US$
1278-1283 per tonne.

In the Netherlands, by contrast,
prices have trended slightly lower
while remaining at high levels. New
pure aluminium scrap prices are
broadly unchanged at around US$

2278 per tonne, while first-quality
old rolled aluminium scrap has fall-
en in value by some US$ 80 per
tonne to trade at US$ 1851.

Copper

According to copper experts, trade
has picked up considerably after the
summer break. The red metal’s price
was hovering in the US$ 7500-8000
per tonne band during October; and by
early November, copper was yielding
around US$ 7690.

However, a debate is raging among
analysts as to whether the high copper
price is fundamentally justified. Most
experts expect prices to remain firm in
the coming months and point by way of
justification to continuously rising de-
mand from Asia and Europe. Sufficient
copper scrap is available to the Euro-
pean market and, as a result, sec-
ondary copper smelters are only buy-
ing enough raw material to satisfy
their short-term production needs.

In Germany, prices of bright wire
scrap (Kabul) stood at US$ 7177 per
tonne in early November, while copper
granules 1A (Kasus) were yielding
US$ 7284. Non-alloyed bright wire
scrap (Kader) was priced at around
US$ 6893 per tonne. In the Nether-
lands, bright wire scrap was trading
recently at US$ 7121 per tonne while
mixed scrap was at US$ 6409.

Lead & Zinc

LME lead prices have continued
on their upward course and, by early

November, stood at around
US$ 3525 per tonne – considerably
above the mid-September level of
US$ 3210. During October, LME
lead reached an all-time high above
US$ 3800 per tonne.

Lead remains in short supply in
Europe; despite the fact that LME
stocks have risen from 21 425 to
39 225 tonnes, these volumes are in-
sufficient to meet current demand
levels. According to traders, consid-
erable stocks lie outside the ex-
change’s warehouses and so LME in-
ventories have no major bearing on
the development of lead prices.

Lead’s positive fundamentals have
also been recognised by the specula-
tive hedge funds. However, many ex-
perts believe prices have now gone
too high, with at least one trader pre-
dicting a decline in the medium term.
That said, if forecasts of a severe win-
ter prove accurate, this will give a
boost to car battery production and
hence to lead prices.

In Germany, new soft lead prices
followed the LME trend and jumped
some US$ 400 per tonne to trade at
US$ 3830 in early November, while
new soft lead scrap (Paket) was
yielding US$ 2181. In the Nether-
lands, old lead scrap was fetching
US$ 2563 per tonne while soft lead
scrap also enjoyed a slight increase.

LME zinc prices weakened some-
what in October, with three-month
zinc reaching US$ 2826 per tonne in
early November. However, experts
expect prices to remain at their his-
torically high levels for the rest of
the year. Following several months
of short supply, there is currently
enough zinc available to the market.
The zinc processing industry seems
content with current market condi-
tions. ‘The growth in the industry of
approximately 13% in 2006 is very
satisfying, although the price volatil-
ity is causing problems,’ according to
Ulrich Henzler of the German zinc
galvanising association. In Germany
alone, some 1.4 million tonnes of
steel was galvanised last year.

In Germany, Special High-Grade
zinc prices fell during October from
US$ 3343 to US$ 3254 per tonne,
while old zinc scrap was recently yield-
ing US$ 2238. In the Netherlands, old
zinc alloy scrap prices increased slight-
ly to US$ 2278 per tonne.

Recycling International • November 2007 76

Set fair for the remainder
of 2007

Closed: November 5 2007

During the recent LME Week gathering in London, analysts

told Europe’s metals traders to expect firm prices for the

rest of this year. Meanwhile, there is mounting concern that

the EU’s waste and REACH chemicals legislation could dam-

age the industry’s competitiveness in relation to its coun-

terparts in Asia and North America.

Europe

Well-filled order books

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