Aluminium billet premiums in Europe reached all-time highs on Friday March 12, with the US billet premium now barely below a record high, and supply squeezed across the globe.
Europe
Billet premiums in Europe continued to soar on Friday due to continued supply tightness and logistics issues.
The premium has overtaken the multi-year highs reached
when US sanctions imposed on producer Rusal caused panic in the aluminium market.
Fastmarkets assessed the
aluminium 6063 extrusion billet premium, ddp North Germany (Ruhr region) at $580-620 per tonne on Friday, up from $550-590 per tonne the previous week.
The premium has soared by 66% since the start of 2021, when it was at $340-380 per tonne.
"The availability of billet is getting worse, and the premiums are continuing to climb. Every day, they are going higher, and people are getting desperate," a trader said.
High freight rates and container issues continue to prevent imports from coming into Europe, and strong demand is causing a shortage of availability.
The majority of producers told Fastmarkets that they were sold out of spot tonnages and...