LONDON — Prices for A356.2 and C355.2 aluminum alloys bumped up this week, which participants attribute to the recent rise in the London Metal Exchange aluminum price.

Prices for A356.2 alloy rose to $1.28 per pound from $1.26 per pound previously and C355.2 alloy increased to $1.33 per pound from $1.31 per pound.

Three-month aluminum closed the LME’s official session at $2,123 per tonne Thursday, up 8.6 percent from $1,954 a month earlier.

Demand is robust with good volumes being ordered, although consumers are avoiding stocking up on inventory and only buying what they need, producers said.

"(December) is off a little bit from October and November (in terms of volumes) but I’ll tell you, I’m surprised with the volumes. ... We’re finding out that a lot of people are sitting on no inventory. And when they call, they want something immediately. No one is ordering for the future. It’s the uncertainty, and I’m sure their customers are ordering at the last minute," one producer told AMM.

"A356.2 is busy (but) it was busier when the LME was lower," a second producer said.

While consumers are keeping inventory as lean as possible, the first producer expects demand for these alloys, used in engines, automotive and building and construction applications, to be fairly robust going into next year.

"They’re mostly tied to automotive, but there’s some other outside influences like construction. And with construction picking up, maybe we can start selling to the appliance industry, which usually goes along with home building," the first producer said.