01 SEPTEMBER 2011Bloomberg Businessweek
Aluminum Fee to Japan Cut as Slowing Recovery Curbs Demand
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
Aluminum buyers in Japan, Asia’s largest importer, agreed to a 2 percent cut in fees charged by a major producer, the first drop in three quarters, after recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami lost momentum.
Premiums for the three months ending Dec. 31 were set at $118 a metric ton over the London Metal Exchange cash price in transactions agreed so far, compared with $120 this quarter, said three executives involved in the negotiations. They declined to be identified because the talks were private.
The fee declined as the U.S. economic slowdown and the yen’s rally to a postwar record against the dollar threaten Japan’s export-led recovery. Aluminum supply is abundant as smelters in the Middle East boosted shipments to Asian buyers, intensifying competition with Australian and American producers.
“Slowing global economies may curb growth in aluminum demand,” said Tomomichi Akuta, economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co. in Tokyo. “As producers are expanding capacity, the metal will likely remain oversupplied.”
Premiums for the three months ending Dec. 31 were set at $118 a metric ton over the London Metal Exchange cash price in transactions agreed so far, compared with $120 this quarter, said three executives involved in the negotiations. They declined to be identified because the talks were private.
The fee declined as the U.S. economic slowdown and the yen’s rally to a postwar record against the dollar threaten Japan’s export-led recovery. Aluminum supply is abundant as smelters in the Middle East boosted shipments to Asian buyers, intensifying competition with Australian and American producers.
“Slowing global economies may curb growth in aluminum demand,” said Tomomichi Akuta, economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co. in Tokyo. “As producers are expanding capacity, the metal will likely remain oversupplied.”
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