Winter Park, Florida 22/08/2016 - The CME Group's aluminium MW US Transaction Premium (AUP) contract on Friday fell its lowest point since being launched in 2013.
The August AUP contract settled on Friday at 6.335 cents per pound (down 1.9 percent week-on-week); September was at 6.45 cents (unchanged), October was at 6.2 cents (down 3.9 percent), while November and December were both at $0.0645 (unchanged).
January through March 2017 settled at 6.85 cents (down 2.1 percent), April through June 2017 ended at seven cents (unchanged), while July through December ended at 6.9 cents (down 1.4 percent).
Volumes last week rose to 1,090 lots or 27,250 tonnes, a 122 percent week-on-week increase. Open interest climbed by 881 lots to 29,185 lots or 729,625 tonnes.
Physical aluminium premiums in the US have come under downward pressure in recent months due to a flood of imports from Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada.
Aluminium imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the US and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) climbed to an all-time record of 816 million pounds or 370,000 tonnes in June, up 62.0 percent year-on-year, the Aluminium Association reported.
The US Midwest aluminium premium was last at a five-year low of 6.25-6.75 cents per pound, down from 6.9-7.25 as soft summer demand has not been able to absorb a record flow of competitively priced imports.