NEW YORK — Contract discussions between Alcoa Inc. and the United Steelworkers union at the company’s Aluminerie de Bécancour (ABI) smelter continued Wednesday after a five-day extension expired at midnight Tuesday.

"Negotiations are continuing," a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh-based Alcoa told AMM, declining to comment further.

Union representatives also confirmed discussions are ongoing.

Both parties have been meeting regularly since Sept. 11 to try to hash out a new deal for some 900 workers at the 400,000-tonne-per-year smelter in Quebec.

Alcoa and the USW agreed to extend the contract to Nov. 27 from Nov. 22 (amm.com, Nov. 26).

Domestic producers and consumers of billet are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the talks, as any curtailed production could significantly impact the North American billet market next year.