UK secondary aluminium prices remained stable on Wednesday as spot business dwindled, but suppliers were able to book additional deals into Europe as producers on the continent close down for maintenance periods.

“There have been a lot of spot enquiries from Europe this week, as smelters there are closing for the summer,” a producer said.

But spot business in the UK has fallen away as consumers rely on their long-term supply contracts to feed them through the next few weeks, when many will curtail their traditional shutdown periods to keep up with strong end-user demand.

“We planned to close for a fortnight but we’re staying on now,” a second ingot producer said.

LM24 pressure diecasting ingot continued to trade at £1,600-1,680 ($2,583-2,712) per tonne, while LM6/LM25 gravity diecasting ingot stayed at £1,900-1,960.

Producers happily reported an end to the recent downtrend, as prices remained within ranges despite weakening demand in the spot market.

“There is a little wave of optimism and a feeling that ingot prices have bottomed now,” the first producer said. “I’m hoping they will firm through August and into September.”

Scrap prices across all grades also held at last week’s levels in wide ranges, as some sellers look to clear their stocks ahead of the summer and some are content to hold material in anticipation of higher prices when customers return.

Ingot producers are hopeful that scrap prices will ease over the summer period as demand slows, but with less scrap available it might not be so easy.

”It’s starting to get a little quieter – a lot of people have stopped taking deliveries this week, and it’s the same every year,” a scrap dealer said. “But there’s less scrap coming in, so we’ll have less going out the door next week.”

“It’s possible that scrap prices could come down in the summer, but the hand may have to be forced a bit,” the second ingot producer said.