Nippon Light Metal to Hike Alumina and Related Products in July

Nippon Light Metal announced on Monday the firm raises its selling prices for 4 items including aluminium hydroxide and alumina by average 10% for shipment on and after July 1. The firm has raised the selling price of alumina and the related products 6 times since 2003 and the previous hike was a year and 3 months ago. The firm passes the upsurge of bauxite price and the cost up for alumina production with lower grade ores.Nippon Light Metal will raise the selling price by 5 yen per kilogram for aluminium hydroxide, by 7 yen per kg for alumina, by 10-15 yen per kg for fused alumina and raw soda alumina effective for shipment on July 1.Bauxite price has almost doubled since 2003 when the international ore supply became tighter due to sharp expansion of primary aluminium output in China. Additionally bauxite grade became lower and the smelters are suffered from worse productivity.Nippon Light Metal currently produces alumina at about 350,000 tonnes per year. Total amount of Japanese domestic alumina production seems 700,000-850,000 tonnes per year at the 3 alumina makers including Nippon Light Metal. These makers are likely to consume bauxite at approximately 1.8 million tonnes per year.