According to some sources, a few Japanese aluminium buyers have agreed to pay a premium of $97 per tonne over the global benchmark price for the shipments during the fourth quarter of 2023, to end on December 31.
This, compared to the previous quarter’s premium of $127.5 per tonne, stands 24 per cent down, said four sources directly involved in the pricing talks. The initial offers made by producers for Q4 shipments were $110-120 per tonne.
The premium agreed upon for Q4 is also lower than that in Q2, between $125-130 per tonne, but higher than $95 per tonne in Q1.
Japan is Asia’s biggest importer of aluminium and the premiums agreed upon for primary metal shipments become the benchmark for the region.
As of July 2023, aluminium stocks at three major Japanese ports were recorded at 350,600 tonnes, down by 1.9 per cent from 357,490 tonnes in the previous month. On an annual basis, Japanese aluminium stock in July recorded a fall of 3.68 per cent from 364,000 tonnes.
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