Japan Primary Al Ingot Price to Rise by 10 yen/kg in July-September

Japanese primary aluminium ingot price increased by 10 yen per kilogram for July-September, which increased for 2 quarters in a row. The price reflected higher offshore market since March while the offshore price already decreases recently. The higher price could encourage speculative purchase by the buyers.

Japanese light metal rerollers buy primary aluminum ingot at the quarterly price mechanism to reflect previous 3-month average. The price decreased by 100 yen per kg in January-March 2009 and by 90 yen in April-June but the price increased by 40 yen in October-December. The price was flat in January-March but the price increased by 30 yen in April-June.

Primary aluminium ingot price exceeded US$ 2,400 per tonne at London Metal Exchange in April. The higher price was reflected to Japanese price in July-September. However, the LME price decreases recently due to financial concern in Europe. The LME price decreased to less than US$ 2,000 hitting the lowest level since October 2009.

Japanese rolled light metal demand recovered around 80% level of the peak due to higher activity by automobile and machinery industry. The higher primary ingot price could be accepted smoothly by the buyers when the distributors also increase the purchase volume.