UK aluminium scrap prices rose again this week as tight domestic availability, higher replacement costs and firm Indian demand kept the market under pressure. The latest move in UK aluminium scrap prices also reflects the wider impact of the Iran conflict, which has lifted replacement values across the aluminium chain after strikes on major Gulf producers pushed primary prices sharply higher earlier this month.
That matters because the UK secondary market is being driven less by exchange price direction and more by physical raw material pressure. Even though London Metal Exchange aluminium prices have eased from last week’s peak, scrap remains difficult to replace and secondary alloy producers are still facing a high-cost input environment.
Scrap prices rise as replacement economics worsen
Super Metal Price assessed old rolled scrap delivered to customers at £1,570-1,620/t, up from £1,520-1,570/t previously. Aluminium wheels rose to £2,220-2,320/t from £2,170-2,270/t. Cast scrap was assessed at £1,670-1,720/t, while commercial turnings corrected lower to £1,320-1,370/t from £1,420-1,470/t.
The underlying issue is not only local scrap tightness. The recent Iran-related disruption in the Gulf aluminium market has increased uncertainty around primary metal availability and pushed up replacement costs for secondary consumers. When primary aluminium becomes more expensive or more exposed to geopolitical risk, scrap becomes more strategically valuable across Europe.
That has reinforced an already firm UK market. Sellers are holding stronger offers, buyers are competing more aggressively for prompt units, and export interest from India is limiting the material available to domestic consumers. The result is a market where physical availability matters more than short-term relief in LME pricing.
Secondary alloy prices follow scrap higher
Secondary alloy prices also moved up this week, showing that higher scrap costs are still feeding through the value chain. Super Metal Price assessed LM24 delivered to customers at £2,370-2,420/t, up from £2,320-2,370/t. LM25 rose to £2,820-2,920/t from £2,770-2,870/t, while LM6 increased to £2,870-2,970/t from £2,820-2,920/t.
These gains suggest that secondary producers are still under margin pressure and continue to pass higher raw material costs into finished alloy pricing. The divergence among scrap grades also supports that view. Old rolled scrap and wheels moved higher, while turnings weakened, showing that buyers are paying up selectively for the grades that matter most for alloy production.
There was some relief from lower LME prices this week. Official three-month aluminium prices peaked at $3,525/t on 1 April after strikes on Emirates Global Aluminium and Aluminium Bahrain, then stabilised at $3,483/t in today’s official session following a fragile ceasefire. But that softening has not been enough to loosen the UK secondary market because scrap replacement costs remain elevated.
SuperMetalPrice Commentary
The key market signal is that UK aluminium scrap prices are being supported by both domestic scarcity and geopolitical replacement risk. The Iran conflict may not directly remove UK scrap from circulation, but it has made secondary units more valuable by tightening the economics of replacement metal across Europe.
The next point to watch is whether scrap inflows improve and whether Gulf supply concerns continue to fade. If not, UK secondary aluminium alloy prices are likely to stay firm even in a more stable LME environment.
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