NEW YORK -- Aluminum prices went in two directions Friday, with Alcan Aluminium Ltd. hiking its postings for primary aluminum ingot and extrusion billet by 2 cents a pound for metal delivered to customers in June while ingot and billet prices dropped more than a cent a pound to their-lowest levels in seven weeks on the hedge and dealer markets.

Montreal-based Alcan set its ingot and billet prices at 68 cents and 78 cents a pound, respectively.

London Metal Exchange traders Friday let cash and three-month metal fall 1.2 cents a pound at the outset to 56.16 cents and 57.40 cents a pound, respectively-lows dating back to April 9-before struggling back up about a quarter-cent in later dealings.

On this side of the Atlantic, the Comex aluminum contract continued to struggle for a place in the sun but volume remained on the meager side. Light trading Friday saw the September contract at 61.85 cents a pound at midday, down 4.75 cents from its debut price two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, local dealers early Friday put the Midwest delivery basis merchant price, which tracks prices on producer sales to dealers, at 61 to 61.25 cents a pound, 7 cents under Alcan's June posting, largely on the strength of the LME decline. The merchant price inched up a quarter-cent after midday.

The cash LME price averaged 56.1 cents a pound through May, down 9 cents, or nearly 14 percent, from the 65.1-cent-a-pound average in the same period last year. The nearly 5-cent-a-pound drop in the cash and three-month prices since the end of April could apply some downward pressure on recently posted price hikes on common alloy sheet and soft alloy extrusions.

LME and Comex traders found little news of a bullish nature in the smelter labor picture as the week drew to a close. Century Aluminum Corp., which faced a May 31 deadline on the current United Steelworkers union labor pact at its big smelter/rolling mill complex in Ravenswood, W.Va., awaits a rank-and-file. vote on its latest contract offer but the results aren't expected until about June 11. Ormet Corp., which faced a May 31 deadline at its smelter/rolling mill complex in Hannibal, Ohio, was expressing optimism that an agreement would be reached, as were USW negotiators.

Meanwhile, USW strikes continue at smelting and rolling mill facilities owned by Kaiser Aluminum Corp. and Southwire Corp.., but operations are continuing with nonunion personnel.