Europe aluminum alloy smelters eye Japan for spot sales; spark no interest

Secondary aluminum alloy smelters in Spain and Italy are seeking to sell spot cargoes to Japan, but buying interest has been limited so far due to differences in ingot size specifications, Japanese market sources said Monday.

Two Tokyo-based trading houses said they had received offers for ADC12 aluminum alloy from two European smelters in the last two weeks. The smelters are currently offering around $2,170/mt CFR Japan main ports for December shipments, traders said.

European smelter sales to Japan have been limited in the past as they focused on local market needs. Italy exported only 49 mt to Japan over January-September this year, and Spain 2,362 mt, according to Japanese customs data.

The smelters are eyeing Japan nevertheless due to falling car sales in Europe due to the eurozone crisis, Japanese sources said.

New passenger car registrations in October in the European Union stood at 1,005,976 units, down 1.8% year on year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Demand in Germany, the largest market for cars, remained stable, ticking up 0.6%, while in Italy it was down 5.5% and Spain 6.7%, leading to an overall 1.8% decline in new registrations, the association said on its website.

But sales have not been easy due to differences in the ingot sizes, the Japanese sources said.