Early offers for Q2 aluminium cif MJP at $150/t and higher - sources

Several trading houses in Japan have received offers for aluminium in the second quarter of 2021 to main Japanese ports (MJPs) from two producers at premiums of $149 and $165 per tonne over the London Metal Exchange cash price, market sources said on Friday February 26.

The latest offer at $165 per tonne is 27% higher than the cif MJP premium for the first quarter of 2021, which settled at $130 per tonne.
The other offer, at $149 per tonne, is 14.6% higher than the first-quarter benchmark.
Major aluminium producers are involved in negotiating quarterly aluminium supply to the region, while other suppliers typically follow the benchmark once agreed.
According to market participants, the aluminium arbitrage window to China has opened sporadically recently and that is the main reason for the hike in offers from producers.

"Producers are very bullish now due to the open Chinese arbitrage window, where...

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