Japanese third

in Commodity News07/08/2023

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the quarter premium for Japanese imported primary aluminum in the third quarter at $127.50/mt plus the London Metal Exchange cash price Aug. 3, on a CIF main Japanese ports basis, unchanged from the midpoint $125-130/mt assessed for the second-quarter.

Platts specifications are for all quarterly settlements on a CIF main Japanese port basis, negotiated before the quarter between two unaffiliated counterparties, for P1020/P1020A 99.7% primary aluminum ingot, with payment in cash against documents, for volumes of 500 mt/month or more under annual frame contracts.

The Q3 assessment was on the basis of seven concluded settlements at $127.50/mt with a total volume of 7,400 mt/month reported done between July 5 and Aug. 3, plus LME cash CIF Japan for seaborne P1020/P1020A ingot for loading over July to September.

Out of the nine deals reported to Platts, two were excluded from the third-quarter premium assessment.

Two settlements reported done at $118/mt on July 28, as part of the annual frame contract, was excluded from the Q3 assessment as the deal was deemed not repeatable by the close of negotiations, when the remaining trades reported settled at $127.50/mt.

The total volume of the two reported settlements that were excluded amounted to the volume of 3,500 mt/month.

The unchanged Q3 premiums were largely attributed to the lack of improvement of market fundamentals observed in Japan, as demand for aluminum remained depressed and, an ample volume of stocks remained readily available in the country.

Meanwhile, Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity insights, assessed the Platts CIF Japan spot premium for 99.7% P1020/P1020A aluminum ingot at $98-$108/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash, CIF Japan, on Aug. 3, unchanged from Aug. 2.Source: Platts