Benchmark alumina prices are now trading at their lowest in over a year due to lack of buying appetite and excess cargoes in the market for May and June.
Fastmarkets' benchmark alumina fob Australia index was last assessed at $351.49 per tonne on May 2 - its lowest level since the index was published at $349.88 per tonne on March 1, 2018. "There are a lot of cargoes being offered in the market at the moment and not much appetite to buy them. Bids are getting lower and fewer and the prices have to keep dropping," a trader said."Usual buyers have high stocks for the next few months and no-one is in a position to desperately buy cargoes," he added.The most recent deal for Australian material concluded at $348.50 per tonne on May 2 for 35,000 tonnes. "It's not easy to sell cargoes at the moment. You have to take...