Japan Primary Al Premium to Drop by US$ 2-3/t in Oct-Dec

Japanese primary aluminium ingot buyers are concluding premium talk to reduce the premium by US$ 2-3 to US$ 118-120 per tonne for October-December from July-September. The buyers sought more than US$ 5 of down citing lower premium in North America. However, the premium down was narrower due to high premium in Europe and high incentive for suppliers from warehouses registered to London Metal Exchange.

Japanese trading firms and light metal rerollers sought US$ 5-7 per tonne of lower premium at the start while one of the suppliers offered US$ 3 down. The suppliers resisted the wide down when LME warehouses pays around US$ 150 per tonne of incentive to suppliers and European premium is as high as US$ 120-130 per tonne along with worldwide tight supply.

North American premium decreased to 8.2-8.3 US cents per pound recently after the surge to 10 US cents in late May. The premium was US$ 103 per tonne at tender by South Korean Public Procurement Service in early August. Japanese trader source sees Korean supply is loose when some traders hold a lot of ingot inventory.

Japanese trading firms see world supply will keep tight due to strong demand in Middle and South America despite of the slow demand in USA and Europe. Japanese demand is expected to keep firm especially for automobile.