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mostly through long-term contracts.
However, Japan’s domestic demand
is still relatively weak, making it hard
for manufacturers to pass on higher
raw material costs to consumers.
LME-cancelled warrants represent
the leading indicator of stock
withdrawals from LME’s warehouses
worldwide. The lack of increase in
cancelled warrants for base metals
suggests no imminent restocking of
these metals by global industrial users,
and so provides no fundamental
evidence of the market tightening that
could lift base metal
prices.
Aluminium cancelled
warrants
have been gradually
falling since mid-
July. On 23 October,
they stood at 88,525
tonnes, representing
1.9% of the total
current LME stocks
of 4.58m tonnes,
compared to 3.5%
in mid-July. At the
moment, they are
nearly at the lowest
level reached over
the past few years.
Alumina
At the end of October
India’s staterun
National Aluminium
Co. Ltd
(Nalco), sold 30,000
tonnes of alumina
on a spot FOB basis,
at USD300 a tonne,
a source in the
company has told
Reuters. The alumina
was purchased
by Hong Kong’s
Hongfan International
Ltd, while the
shipment will take
place in November.
Nalco, whose tenders
serve as an internationalbenchmark,
last sold
alumina at almost
USD284 a tonne in
August and USD191
ALUMINIUM · 12/2009
in February. A week earlier, Nalco has
finalised a long-term contract for the
export of 270,000 tonnes of alumina
at 14.95% of the LME 3 months price
on FOB basis. The alumina will be
supplied to Switzerland-based Alaska
Metals in nine batches of 30,000
tonnes each through 2010, said a
source in the company, who has direct
knowledge of the sale but could not be
identified due to company policy. Last
year in October, Nalco sold 240,000
tonnes of alumina in a long-term contract
at 13.3% of the average alumin-
Sapa GmbH
European Trading Business
EcONOMicS
ium LME price, a source told Reuters.
Aluminium Corp. of China Ltd
(Chalco), the world’s third-largest alumina
producer, raised its spot prices
by 3.9% at the end of September,
that is the third hike in two months
amid recovering demand. Alumina
price rose 2,650 yuan (USD388) a
tonne from 2,550 yuan, Chalco said.
It increased prices by 6.3% on 1 September,
and 4.3% on 3 August. The
alumina price hike reflects increased
demand due to smelter restarts in
China in recent months. ➝
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