Winter Park, Florida 16/05/2016 - The CME Group's Aluminum MW US Transaction Premium (AUP) contract solidified just below 8.0 cents per pound last week when both volumes and open interest ticked higher.
The AUP forward curve remains essentially flat but prices have inched higher over the past several sessions. May settled on Friday at 7.85 cents, up 0.9 percent week-on-week, while June to November all closed at 7.8 cents, up 1.3 percent, and December ended at 7.75 cents, up 0.7 percent.
This remains in line with the the physical spot market. FastMarkets' Midwest premium last week traded in a tight range of 7.75-8.0 cents.
Open interest was up 1.6 percent compared to the prior week at 25,908 lots (647,700 tonnes) while weekly trade volumes increased 117 percent to 935 lots.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)