Prices for aluminium P1020A cargoes offered into China have come down from multi-year highs because of a marked decline in demand, an uncertain near-term outlook and the closure of the London-Shanghai arbitrage window, Fastmarkets heard on Wednesday October 27.
Fastmarkets' latest monthly assessment of the aluminium P1020A premium, cif Shanghai, was $130-140 per tonne on Tuesday, down from a six-year high of $180-200 per tonne on September 28. The abrupt decline came after premiums had climbed for three consecutive months.Market sentiment has softened in the past two weeks. Buyers faced with thinner profit margins because of surging power costs and a persistent market undersupply have reported lower buying interest. Furthermore, electricity curbs in China have led to estimated cuts of 10-20% in overall industry operations so far, forcing a contraction in market...