Bloomberg reported that Japanese aluminium buyers look set to secure their first fee reduction from suppliers in a year as the economy continues to shrink.
Aluminium fees have doubled over the last year hitting record highs on the back of rising premiums in Europe and the US but if this deal is signed off are expected to fall back by as much as 4% for the first 3 months of 2013.
Demand for aluminium from Japanese buyers has been slack in recent months on the back of a number of factors including a territorial dispute between Japan and China over islands in the East China Sea which has hit sales of Japanese cars in China.
Mr Koji Iida head of statistics at the Japan Aluminium Association said that "It's hard to find factors that may push up metal demand in the H2 of this fiscal year. We are concerned about demand from the auto sector as the anti-Japan campaign in China is taking a toll."
