Japanese import of primary aluminium ingot kept high volume at above 140,000 tonnes for two months in a row. According to Ministry of Finance, the import was 145,073 tonnes in January, which decreased by 0.7% from a year earlier. Japanese major aluminium sash maker increased domestic production since the maker’s productive site in Thailand had been suspended by flood disaster. Japanese aluminium users showed strong demand for imported ingot under strong yen trend.
The import of aluminium alloy ingot increased by 13.5% to 108,645 tonnes in January from a year earlier. The figure represented year-to-year plus for six straight months when imported alloys were cheaper than domestic alloys due to strong exchange rate of yen. The copper scrap import decreased by 25% to 6,286 tonnes in January from a year earlier, which represented year-to-year minus for five straight months. The demand is weak along low operations of Japanese copper alloy fabricators. The import of brass and bronze scrap decreased by 40% to 2,623 tonnes. The copper alloy scrap import decreased by 21% to 1,780 tonnes. The refined lead ingot kept year-to-year plus for eleven straight months through January, which increased by 87% to 2,454 tonnes from a year earlier. Japanese lead battery makers increased material procurement from overseas when domestic material supply was short.