Platts assessed spot premiums for aluminum imports into Japan at $85-$90/mt plus London Metal Exchange cash CIF Japan Monday, flat since October 27, amid talks of offers available at $80/mt heard in the market.
Two Asian traders said they have heard one global trader offering at $80-$85/mt plus LME cash CIF Japan for over 1,000 mt of possibly Australian aluminum.
The seller denied having made such offers, however, and Platts has not been able to identify buyers at $80-$85/mt plus LME cash CIF Japan Monday.
Some traders said the lower premium offers seem to have resulted from the LME cash-to-contango spread narrowing to $15/mt in the past week from over $30/mt two weeks ago.
"There is a tendency to offer premiums lower in order to get rid of the metal," said one trader.
A Japanese trader said spot premiums are not rising as they are in the US and Europe as the 500,000 mt output cuts by Alcoa announced last week will not impact Asia.
