Most global aluminium billet premiums hit their highest levels since 2019 in the week to Friday January 15, with market participants seeing a lack of availability of products across various regions.
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European premiums highest since Q2 2019
Aluminium billet premiums throughout Europe jumped, with market participants facing shortages of billet supply in Italy, Spain and Germany.
Fastmarkets assessed the
aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region), at $380-410 per tonne on Friday, up from $360-390 per tonne the week before. This was the premium's highest point since May 2019.
The billet shortage has led to a complete lack of availability in the spot market across Europe, with participants saying that there was already a scramble to secure units for the second quarter.
"Demand is fundamentally robust," a billet producer said. "[The increase is] happening at a time when we're usually at the lowest seasonality - mid-January - and with a pandemic. One could...