In Cofundi we are dedicated to aluminum casting, so for us aluminum alloys, where the percentage is higher than 90%, are our primary raw material. So we put special emphasis on negotiation and control of the purchase price. With that, we can reach the most competitive price to our products our customers.
The price of aluminum involves three main variables, they are the following:
- Aluminium LME Prices
- Quote Prime Aluminium
- Ratio $ / €
The combination of these three elements and their interaction gives rise to the purchase price that is negotiated with our supplier. As we will be able to check there is very little leeway, once known the situation of each of these variables.
We explain more clearly each of the three points.
Quotation Aluminium LME
THE LME is the London Metal Exchange, where it takes more than 80% of the global business of buying and selling of non-ferrous materials. In this market the following materials are quoted: Aluminum, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Zinc, Cobalt, Molybdenum, etc. Your website is https://www.lme.com
In this market, prices of these materials are traded daily at different times of the purchase, being the commonest Cash (present) and three months. This price is in dollars, so that in order to calculate the final price is necessary to recalculate it euro. Below you can see a graph of the variation of the price of aluminum on the LME this year.
It can be appreciated that there has been strong rise since January (€ 1,738.78 / TN) to December ($ 2,048.00 / TN).
Prize
This concept is used by manufacturers of Aluminium prices to correct and adapt to market realities. That is according to various factors such as supply and demand that there are, stocks, …. They are values that add to the value of the LME, which are also expressed in $. This data is published in Metal Bulletin and its website is http://www.metalbulletin.com. In the graph we can observe the sharp increase it has had:
This prize also suffers different variations depending on the final composition of the aluminum alloy chosen, which become part of the price quotations of other main alloying elements of aluminum, such as: silicon, magnesium, manganese Titanium, Strontium, etc … in addition other specific conditions are included as the payment and shipping cost.
Relationship €/$
Aluminum is bought in €, so at the sum of LME is added the prize allocated to Aluminum expressed in $, and it is passed to € as ratio they have at the moment.
This quote is found in the European Central Bank, http://www.ecb.europa.eu.
The variation of the € against the $ you can see in this graph.
It is clearly seen as the euro is having a high depreciation against the dollar. Motivated by changes in the management of the European Central Bank.
Final conclusion
We are in a rising moment about the final price of aluminum, in which none of the three elements that compose permit a glimpse some decline in the final price.
From what the markets, intermediaries and manufacturers forecast for the future is that the price of aluminum and the Prize continue to rise for at least the first half of 2015. Likewise, the euro continues to fall and is anticipated to lose value against the dollar . So the final price instead of decreasing return to continue its upswing.
Marta Muñoz