Bloomberg.com
Japan Aluminum Buyers Said to Agree to Record Quarterly Premium
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
Aluminum buyers in Japan, Asia’s largest importer, agreed to pay a record premium to producers next quarter after global smelters cut output, according to five officials with direct knowledge of the talks.
Premiums for the three months starting in July will be $200 to $210 a metric ton over the London Metal Exchange’s price of metal for immediate delivery, said the executives, who declined to be identified because the fee hasn’t been publicly announced. That compares with $115 to $127 this quarter.
Premiums are rising as Japanese demand expands, led by the car and construction industries rebuilding from last year’s earthquake and tsunami. At the same time, buyers in China are boosting imports to take advantage of international prices that are below domestic costs.
An average of 68,100 tons of aluminum was produced globally in April, down from 68,300 tons in March, the London-based International Aluminium Association estimates. Output rose as high as 71,000 tons a day in October. The price of metal for immediate delivery on the LME declined 14 percent since March 1 to $1,978.25 a ton, bourse data show.
Premiums for the three months starting in July will be $200 to $210 a metric ton over the London Metal Exchange’s price of metal for immediate delivery, said the executives, who declined to be identified because the fee hasn’t been publicly announced. That compares with $115 to $127 this quarter.
Premiums are rising as Japanese demand expands, led by the car and construction industries rebuilding from last year’s earthquake and tsunami. At the same time, buyers in China are boosting imports to take advantage of international prices that are below domestic costs.
An average of 68,100 tons of aluminum was produced globally in April, down from 68,300 tons in March, the London-based International Aluminium Association estimates. Output rose as high as 71,000 tons a day in October. The price of metal for immediate delivery on the LME declined 14 percent since March 1 to $1,978.25 a ton, bourse data show.
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